


A Good Bad Influence

by IndigoMischief



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, First Kiss, Gay, Gay Amami Rantaro, M/M, Making Out, Marijuana, Minor Harukawa Maki/Momota Kaito, Recreational Drug Use, Teenage Rebellion, Tutoring, Underage Smoking, Verbal Abuse, minor oma kokichi/k1-b0
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-03
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2020-02-16 10:23:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 32,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18689578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IndigoMischief/pseuds/IndigoMischief
Summary: Rantaro was supposed to tutor a boy from his class, but it ends up being a lot more serious than a little trouble with history.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First of all, this idea was sparked by the song Rolling Stoned by My Darkest Days and ended up turning into a much bigger thing. I would like to warn that there will be mention of teenage weed use so if that bothers you, don't read.
> 
> And if it isn't clear, the setting is at Hope's speak during their second year. None of the killing games happened, so nobody is dead. All the backstories mentioned in the games are still canon here.

It was fairly rare at Hope’s peak for a student to require tutoring services, but Rantaro had taken on the responsibility nonetheless. He liked helping wherever he could, plus having to stay late at school gave him a reason to stay out of trouble. He was given notice today that he was supposed to be tutoring a particular student today. The teachers told him that his marks have been declining as of late but he wouldn’t open up to them about any reason why. Because of his recent sour behavior, they decided to hire Rantaro to help. Maybe he would have better luck reaching him than many of the adults have had.

To his surprise, they wouldn’t reveal the students name, all they said was it was a student from his own class. He thought it was weird to not ask an upper classman to tutor someone his age, but he didn’t argue all that much. All he was told was to keep everything between him and the other student. After the last class of the day got out, Rantaro was told to meet him in the tutoring classroom. In order to keep things more discreet, Rantaro went downstairs to grab himself some coffee from the cafeteria before returning. He didn’t want the two of them to be spotted together since the teachers were being really hush hush about it.

When he got back upstairs, he went to the tutoring room. Normally it was empty, only one group occupied it at any given time. Those were the rules anyway. He reached for the door handle, slowly pushing it open to avoid any sudden noises. When he popped his head in, the person he saw waiting for him was not the person he expected.

“Shuichi?” he asked on instinct. He knew he shouldn’t judge, but what was a kid like Shuichi doing here? He was quiet, but had a good head on his shoulders. In year one he was among the top of their class, beating himself even.

The dark haired boy looked up from the floor, the brim of his baseball cap hiding the top of his eyes. He looked equally surprised.

“Rantaro? Are you supposed to be my…?” he trailed off. Rantaro nodded as he walked in the rest of the way, making sure to close and lock the door behind him.

“Sorry, I wasn’t told who would be in here,” He tried to explain his shock in a delicate way.

“Yeah, well, sorry you’ve got to put up with me,” Shuichi said, he had such sadness hanging from his words. Shuichi was never this glum before, was he? He and Rantaro didn’t talk much outside of class, but from what he had seen, he was just shy. This was a whole other level.

“Um… so you need some help with history?” Rantaro tried to shake off his thoughts and do his job. Shuichi shook his head.

“Can we… just pretend to do the tutoring thing? I told them I didn’t want to do this…” Shuichi asked bluntly. Rantaro didn’t know what to say. Something was clearly wrong though, and he wanted to help. But prying for info seemed like the wrong thing to do.

“If… that’s what you want,” Rantaro hesitantly agreed. He could get in trouble if he was caught letting him off the hook, but he wasn’t the type to force things on people either.

“You can go if you want, I’ll wait here until the end of the session,” his eyes moved back to the floor, his hat now covering his face from view.

“Sorry, I can’t. I have to stay until the end too or I’ll get chewed out. Those are the rules,” he said, trying to be lighthearted about it.

A look of concern grew on Shuichi's face, "I'm sorry I'm wasting your time," he apologized, tugging his hat even lower.

"It's okay... I don't mind really. I mostly do this to keep myself out of trouble," he tried to joke, but Shuichi had no reply. Rantaro leaned back in his chair and sipped at his now lukewarm coffee. Shuichi was practically a statue. But Rantaro could see he was deep in thought. He knew he shouldn't ask, but seeing this boy like this was really concerning him.

"Shuichi... Are you okay?" He asked softly. Shuichi shot him a brief glance, but his eye contact was fleeting.

"I'm fine..." He answered hesitantly. Rantaro could tell that was a lie, but he didn't want to push.

"Okay," he began, glancing up at the ceiling, "I know we're not close or anything, but if you ever need someone to talk to you can come to me." He caught Shuichi glance at him for a moment, but he had no reply. Rantaro figured that was as far as he was going to get with him as he swished around the remaining coffee in his cup.

They sat in silence for the rest of the hour. It was awkward, but Shuichi wasn't interested in help. Rantaro had taken the time to get some if his own work done and by the end of their time, Shuichi got up to leave.

"I'm sorry..." He said as he left the room. The young adventurer felt his heart ache as he watched the black clad teen leave the room. He was such an empath sometimes, but Shuichi's behavior was so concerning he couldn't help it. He gathered his things and left, the thought of the black haired boy lingering in his mind.

~

He and Shuichi were supposed to meet up every day after class until his marks improved. Rantaro knew they would be doing this for a while if Shuichi didn't start working on his grades, but the boy had just seemed to have given up. It was sad to think about, but Rantaro felt invested in this now. He wanted to do whatever he needed to do to help Shuichi get through whatever he was going through.

When it was time for tutoring again, he made sure to be the first in the room. When Shuichi arrived, he stopped him before he sat down and got comfortable.

"Listen Shuichi," Rantaro began, "I don't know what's going on, but if you don't want to come here anymore, I won't force you,"

"What?" Shuichi sounded surprised.

"I mean if you want to head home after school, go right ahead," Rantaro smiled.

"But... The school's making me do this," he argued.

"I know. I'm saying I'll cover for you," Rantaro said, a soft smile cracked his lips.

"Won't that get us in trouble?" He sounded concerned.

"Like I said, I'll cover for you. If anyone finds out, I'll tell them the truth. It'll be my fault, not yours," Rantaro explained.

"I don't want to get you in trouble!" Shuichi protested, but Rantaro reached out a hand and laid it on the shorter boy's shoulder.

"If being here won't help, I don't want to force you. I want to help you Shuichi," Rantaro said. His hazel eyes looking directly at the other teen. Shuichi looked flustered, but he wouldn't argue anymore.

"Okay. Thank you Rantaro," he gave him a weak smile, but it was a smile nonetheless. Rantaro smiled back and watched as Shuichi left. He hoped this would help somewhat, but he was taking a risk to do this. The teachers would cut him as a tutor for doing this, but he felt that this was more important. Shuichi's well-being was more important.

~ 

Rantaro had taken the rest of the week after class to sit alone in the tutoring room, working on homework and whatnot. So far, he was in the clear. But every day he made an effort to at least pay a little bit of attention to the dark clad boy. He would greet him at the start of class, try to sit with him at lunch. Anything to check up on him and see how he was fairing. To his dismay, Shuichi didn't seem to be doing any better by the end of the week. He usually hung out with Kaede or Kaito and Maki during lunch but Rantaro found him alone every day. Shuichi let him join, but their conversation was limited. He wasn't sure what to do.

He thought that letting him have more free time would be good, but maybe he was just making it worse.

Not even just for Shuichi.

Rantaro arrived early to school Monday morning and was stopped by one if the teachers. Immediately he was summoned to his office.

"Is there a reason Saihara has stopped attending tutoring?" The instructor asked bluntly. Rantaro tried not to let it show on his face, but he was busted.

"He... Told me he was interested in a club, so I let him check it out. We're going back to regular tutoring this week though," he lied.

"Saihara was seen leaving the campus every day last week after Monday, and then on Friday, he was caught attempting to skip gym class with all of his belongings. So I would appreciate it if you do not continue to lie to me and explain." The teacher sounded irate. Rantaro was sweating, but he knew he was caught so he gave in.

"Honestly, I... I told him he could leave. Shuichi's dealing with something right now, and I didn't want to force him to stay here," Rantaro explained.

"That's not your call to make Amami, you had one job and so far you haven't been taking it seriously. The other students didn't seem all that pleased with you either. And per our agreement, that means the deal’s off. So I'm going to have to punish you for all of your past offenses," his teacher laid into him. Rantaro shrugged. He figured this might happen.

"Fair is fair, what's my punishment then?" Rantaro asked, defeated.

"Obviously I'm taking your tutoring job away. And you'll be suspended for 2 weeks while we prepare a special curriculum for delinquents like you," he declared.

"Special curriculum?" Rantaro asked nervously.

"Hope's Peak prides itself on its students, if you graduate from our school the job prospects afterward are guaranteed. So if you want that privilege, I'm going to make you work for it," he explained.

Rantaro sighed. Of course that wasn't ideal. His parents would really hate him now. And even more if he couldn't graduate after making it into Hope's Peak.

"So I guess my suspension starts now then..." Rantaro asked in a low tone.

"Yes, you will be allowed back two Mondays from now and your special assignments will begin at that time. I hope you learn your lesson Amami. There will be no tolerance for your actions here."

Rantaro couldn't even muster a response to that. He picked up his bag and walked out the office door. Classes were starting soon as he was leaving, meaning the halls were packed with students heading to their homerooms. After he passed his own homeroom class, the halls became emptier. He was hoping nobody he knew would see him leave like this but unfortunately, Murphy's Law dictates otherwise.

"Rantaro!" He heard a familiar voice call to him from the end of the hall. Rantaro looked up to see the young detective approaching him. Rantaro's chest hurt as he laid his eyes on him. But he couldn’t let it show, so Rantaro put on his fake smile.

"Hey Shuichi," he said, trying to sound content.

"Where are you going? Class is gonna start soon," he pointed out.

"I know...um..." Rantaro didn't know if he should tell him about what just happened. He didn't want Shuichi to blame himself.

"You wanna walk to class with me?" He asked. Honestly, Shuichi's voice seemed a little brighter than it had been the past week. That made Rantaro a little happier. But it was clear that something was up with him. After hearing about Shuichi's offense last week, he knew he needed to do something. As he picked at the idea, a thought crossed his mind. It would be risky, but maybe that's what both of them needed right now.

"Hey, this might sound crazy, but do you wanna skip with me?" Rantaro asked with a smile.

"What?” he looked understandably panicked, “We'd get in so much trouble," he protested.

"I know, but I think this place has us both down right now. It's just for today, please?" He tried to give him his best pleading face to convince Shuichi to leave with him.

"W-where would we go?" Shuichi, not sounding completely against the idea, asked.

"I have a place. You'll like it, trust me," Rantaro said vaguely.

"I...I guess," he got a weirdly determined look on his face, "okay! Let's go!"

"Not so loud!" Rantaro said, half chuckling but trying not to draw attention, "There's a door by the auditorium nobody checks. We can get out there." He gestured for Shuichi to follow him, and they trekked quietly through the school until they got to the hidden back door Rantaro mentioned.

It lead directly to the back half of the student parking lot, which was mostly empty. There were a few cars here and there, but most students walked or took the train to school so it was pretty unused. Rantaro dug around in his pocket and pulled out a set of car keys with a few keychains dangling off of them.

"Wait... You have a car?" Shuichi asked surprised.

"Yup," Rantaro replied as he clicked the unlock button. The lights on a slightly new, but not brand new pickup truck flashed and Rantaro started walking to it.

"Wait... Why do you own a truck? Don't you live here in the city?" Shuichi was even more confused.

"You'll see, come on," he gestured with a smile as he went to the driver’s side door. He climbed inside and set his bag down in the center seat that mostly remained unused. Shuichi opened the passenger side door and used the handle up top to pull himself in. He set his bag next to Rantaro’s and they both clicked their seatbelts in. 

“I’ve got a ton of CD’s if you wanna find something to listen to,” Rantaro gestured to a big CD case on the floor by Shuichi’s feet. The black clad teen picked it up and started shuffling through the pages as Rantaro started the car and drove off. His heart was heavy from earlier still, but at least he could get away for a little while. He did feel bad about dragging Shuichi with him like this, but just maybe, Shuichi needed this too.

Shuichi put a disk into the player and Rantaro turned it up as they made their way to Rantaro’s special spot. Rantaro couldn’t help but sing to the music. He loved signing to the radio while he drove. Shuichi looked over at him, the soft sunlight beaming in from behind his silhouette. Rantaro wasn’t a bad signer either. Shuichi looked out the window after a while and watched the scenery as they drove, listening to the sound of Rantaro’s soothing voice in the background. The light brown haired teen turned the music down after a little while of silence and tried to stir up a conversation.

“Have you ever done this before?” Rantaro asked, remembering what he heard earlier today.

“Not technically,” he answered, “to be honest I tried to last Friday, but I got caught.”

Rantaro chuckled, “Oh yeah, where were you going to go?” he asked.

“I didn’t think that far, I just… wanted to leave,” Shuichi said glumly.

“I hear ya,” he said, his eyes darted between the black haired boy and the road. Shuichi looked sad still, but he was trying to come out of whatever slump he was in.

“Do you do this often?” Shuichi asked.

“I did, but I got caught doing it too much. I told them my talent and that I was just trying to focus on that, but they got really mad,” Rantaro noted.

“Oh yeah, you’re the ultimate adventurer. So have you been to a lot of places?” Shuichi asked, sounding genuinely interested.

“You bet, but there’s a lot of places I haven’t been too,” Rantaro said smiling.

“Must be nice to escape all the time,” Shuichi said halfheartedly. Rantaro raised his brow at that remark. Shuichi seemed to be more interested in opening up to him now that they were away from school. He didn’t reply to the dark haired boy, but he wanted to circle back to this later. They had been driving for a little while now and he was coming upon the edge of the city where the roads narrowed and winded as you started to drive out into the country.

“Um… we’re out pretty far. Are we almost there?” Shuichi asked, sounding concerned.

“Yeah, more or less. I’ll let you know.” Rantaro kept driving. He was really swift on these winding roads, like he had driven them many times. Shuichi felt a little nervous being on them. The drop off he saw out the window was alarming. He tried to sit back and not think about falling as Rantaro kept his eyes focused on the road.

It was maybe only a few more minutes until Rantaro pulled off onto the side of the road. Shuichi jolted up and looked around. He was confused when he noticed they were still on the road, nothing else was around them. 

Rantaro turned to the dark clad boy and smiled, “Alright, we’re here.”


	2. Chapter 2

"Where is here though?" Shuichi asked. He looked out his window after the car stopped only to be staring back at the road.

"Go look outside," Rantaro insisted as he pulled out the key and placed it in his pants pocket. Shuichi didn't quite understand, but he got out of the car anyway and looked around. On the road side, there wasn't anything too spectacular. At first, he couldn't see why Rantaro liked this spot so much. He walked around to the other side if the car though, past Rantaro who was just getting out and looked over the small pass he had stopped on.

Shuichi let out an audible gasp as he looked below. There was a small forest like spot with trees that reached up just underneath the cliff side. Beyond that, was their city. You could see so many different buildings pushed up against one another. If you squinted, you could even see people and cars moving about. Shuichi was so distracted by the view, he didn't notice that Rantaro came up beside him. 

"It's even better at night. Everything's all lit up, you can see the stars too," he said soulfully.

"That sounds amazing," Shuichi said. The morning glow was still lingering, giving the place a somber feeling for now. It was still peaceful.

"Wait here, okay," Rantaro said as he walked back to his truck. Shuichi watched him get in and start the engine again. He panicked at first, thinking Rantaro might leave him there, but Rantaro turned his car around and backed into the clearing so the bed of his truck was facing the cliff. He got out and walked back to open the hatch.

"Climb up!" He said, motioning for Shuichi to join him. The black haired boy did and Rantaro offered him a hand to help lift himself into the back. Rantaro jumped in after him and crawled to a fairly big lock box he kept against the back. He used one of the keys on his key ring to open it and laid the lock inside the box for now.

He pulled out a big comforter that was folded up and tossed it open to its full size. Shuichi saw what he was doing and helped him lay it down on the truck bed for them to sit on. He had two fluffy pillows in the box as well.

"Is this why you own a truck?" Shuichi couldn't help but laugh.

"Sure is," Rantaro smiled.

"Do you take a lot of people out in your truck like this?" Shuichi asked, sounding a bit hesitant.

"No, actually you're the first," Rantaro said with a charmed tone.

"Then why do you keep two pillows?" Shuichi asked coyly.

"Ah, of course you'd notice," Rantaro chuckled, "it's because I've always wanted to do this with a friend, but I usually chicken out... Plus I haven't really gotten to make any friends since I started travelling." His tone shifted at the end. Shuichi wondered what kind of stuff Rantaro had on his mind. He always seemed happy and laid back but it was weird that he was alone all the time.

Rantaro shifted around in that lock box some more and pulled out something that made Shuichi a little nervous. He was holding a purple glass pipe and lighter that was tucked away, "um, do you mind if I smoke right now?" Rantaro asked shyly.

"I... I didn't know you..." Shuichi didn't want to say anything offensive.

"Not very often. But when I get anxious, it calms my nerves," he explained.

"Are you anxious now?" Shuichi asked.

"A little... It's not your fault if that's what you’re thinking," he said quickly, before Shuichi got the wrong idea, "it's more about something that happened earlier,"

"What happened earlier?" Shuichi asked, never one to shy away from the questions. 

"If you let me take a few hits, I'll tell you," Rantaro bribed. Shuichi nodded in agreement and watched as Rantaro prepared some of the green bud and pushed it into the bowl of the pipe. He lit it with the lighter and inhaled.

He blew out the smoke after holding it in for a while. The light brown haired teen had a serious look on his face. He was silent as he took another hit from the pipe. Shuichi watched him curiously. There was something majestic about the act.

"What's it like?" Shuichi asked.

"Weed? You wanna try some?" Rantaro offered. Shuichi paused for a moment.

"Maybe not this time, I'm just curious," he politely declined.

"No problem. It's like... You get to stop caring about your troubles for a little while. At least, that's what it does for me," Rantaro explained, in an unexpectedly poetic way. Rantaro gazed up at the sky, looking thoughtful.

"So... What's troubling you Rantaro?" Shuichi asked.

"I... Guess I got fired today," Rantaro said.

"Wait... Your tutoring job?" Shuichi looked shocked. His eyes wide, though still barely visible under his hat. Rantaro nodded.

“Yeah, I got my ass handed to me too,” Rantaro said with a sigh.

“Was that… because of me?” Shuichi asked. He grasped at his chest, clearly feeling guilty.

“No, to be honest, I was on a slippery slope anyway,” Rantaro admitted, “You were my last chance to prove myself, but when I talked to you that first day I just… couldn’t.”

“I’m sorry, I was being an ass. I had no idea you’d lose your job over me!” he cried out.

“I told you, don’t apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong,” Rantaro smiled. Shuichi looked like he couldn’t handle this truth and he laid back onto the pillow Rantaro had given him.

“Shuichi, there has been something up with you. I’ve been trying my hardest to help but I need you to talk to me,” Rantaro said, “You can trust me, I promise,”

“I… well,” Shuichi rolled over so his back was facing Rantaro. He didn’t think he would try to pry this out of him, but he felt like he owed it to him now that he has put so much on the line for him. With a deep breath, he sat back up and played nervously with his fingers.

“I don’t even know where to begin,” his gaze travelled down to his hands shyly. Rantaro put his pipe back in the box and scooted closer to Shuichi, taking his pillow in his arms and leaning forward to rest on it. Shuichi was nervous as he got close, but it was kind of nice to have someone pay close attention to him.

“Is it wrong to not want to use my talent?” Shuichi asked after a few moments of struggling.

“You… don’t want to be a detective?” Rantaro asked surprised.

“No! I… I have to work with my uncle at his firm and every time he gets another case, I just can’t deal with it,” Shuichi said frustratingly, he threw his hands up and grabbed at his head. 

“The cases are too much?” Rantaro wondered what he meant. He nodded.

“I keep trying to push through and help out, I got into Hope’s Peak after all, if I don’t use my talent isn’t it all a waste?” Shuichi thought. Rantaro gave him a consoling look. He could see why Shuichi must’ve been so glum lately. This is a lot of pressure for someone to have to deal with. He wanted to keep listening to him before adding to the conversation so he gazed attentively as Shuichi continued to vent.

“But… the detective work my uncle does… it’s horrible. I get nauseous just thinking about it,” He said, Rantaro saw tears starting to form in his eyes.

“It haunts me in my sleep…” he choked, “Last week, I couldn’t sleep for days. All of the corpses and cries of victims and families. It’s awful. And at night it gets so much worse. I was relieved when you said I could skip tutoring, because I went straight home to go to bed. That’s what I was trying to do Friday too. I couldn’t sleep at all the night before and if I had to join gym that day, I thought I was going to pass out,” Shuichi explained. After that, he just broke down. He was trying to stay composed, but Rantaro saw tear streaks running down his face.

“Shuichi,” Rantaro began. He reached out his hand invitingly and Shuichi took it with some hesitation. Rantaro squeezed his tightly in support. Shuichi continued to cry, and Rantaro insisted that he get it out of his system.

When Shuichi looked like he was slowing, Rantaro spoke up, “do you feel a little better?” Shuichi managed a nod as he reached up and wiped his eyes with his sleeve.

“A little,” he forced a weak smile, “I just don’t know what to do though. I can’t quit Hope’s Peak, my parents would be so ashamed of me. And my Uncle is so happy having me work with him. I’m not denying that I have potential to do this work either, it just makes me sick and I’m not handling it well. My uncle say’s I’ll get used to it, but I don’t know…”

“You know, you don’t have to focus on these types of cases as a detective,” Rantaro said. Shuichi raised his brow.

“I… don’t?” he asked.

“No, there’s a lot of other kinds of cases you could work on,” he claimed.

“Like what?” Shuichi asked curiously.

“Like… missing person cases, or…” Rantaro trailed off. His grip on Shuichi’s hand loosened and Shuichi noted a demeanor shift in his friend.

“Why… do you bring up that subject?” he quizzed.

“Huh, oh, no reason, I just thought...“ Rantaro said, but Shuichi stopped him.

“You have a reason,” he argued, “please, tell me?” Rantaro chuckled.

“See, you really are good at this,” he smiled, but Shuichi could tell it wasn’t wholesome, “truth is, I’m a total fuck up. You know how I discovered my talent?”

“Uh, no, how?” Shuichi was curious, though a little peeved he was ignoring his question.

“I used to travel with my family. My dad does a lot of overseas business so I have been all over the world. But I was reckless. I would sneak away and go to some real obscure and sometimes dangerous places. I didn’t realize it, but my sisters would follow me. They couldn’t always keep up, and because of me, they’ve all gone missing,” he said solemnly.

“That’s…” Shuichi stopped for a moment, “you blame yourself for that?”

“Obviously it was my fault. After it happened over and over, my parents really started to resent me. Of all their kids, I single handedly got all of them lost. I’ve been searching for them since all the incidents, but I can’t find them. And after that, I started to gain attention as an adventurer. So that’s when Hope’s Peak scouted me out. Now I’m stuck here and can’t be out there looking. My parents have given up on finding them. So if I quit school, they’ll be pissed. But the longer I wait the less likely it will be to find them…alive,” Rantaro told his story. Shuichi could help but gape at him as he was listening. This sounded so outrageous, but Rantaro was being truthful. Rantaro looked at the young detective and gave him a weird look.

“Please don’t look at me like that,” Rantaro laughed awkwardly.

“Sorry, that’s just… such a shocking story,” he said, “But I think it’s really incredible that you’ve been looking for them. Most people would have given up,” Shuichi complimented.

“You think so?” Rantaro asked as he gazed up at the sky.

“Yeah!” Shuichi agreed, “I’d… love to help you find them.” Rantaro returned his eyes to the dark haired boy, he looked astonished, but happy. His eyes were glimmering brightly as a smile cracked his lips.

“Do you… really mean that?” he asked.

“Of course!” Shuichi sat up on his knees, grasping Rantaro’s hand with both of his tightly, “If I could use my talent to help you, then I think I could feel better about it. Not to mention, I feel like I owe you,”

“You don’t owe me anything Shuichi,” Rantaro claimed.

“You know, you’re a good friend Rantaro,” he smiled. Rantaro chuckled softy.

“It’s… been a long time since somebody’s called me their friend,” the light brown haired boy bit his lip nervously.

“I’m happy to,” Shuichi said. They both got quiet for a moment. The wind started to pick up, sending a chill through the air. Rantaro and Shuichi both felt cold from the sudden drop in temperature so Rantaro pulled the bottom of the blanket up so it would cover them while they were still sitting in the trunk bed. Shuichi curled up around the giant pillow as Rantaro draped the blanket over him. Rantaro laid next to the black haired boy, feeling warm underneath the plush comforter.

They stayed up there for a while as Rantaro waited to come off of his high so he could take Shuichi out to breakfast. Shuichi was nervous about getting caught, so Rantaro suggested that they drive to the next town over where nobody knew them.

Spending the day with Shuichi was working out better than he expected. He was nervous to find out what kind of trouble he was getting the boy into, but maybe if he can change his mindset than maybe the school will go easy on him.

“I’m sure my parents will be pissed at me for this,” Shuichi said nervously.

“Probably,” Rantaro agreed, his eyes glued on the road as he drove Shuichi back home, “but hey, can you do something for me?” Shuichi made an acknowledging noise as he looked in the other teen’s direction.

“What’s that?” the black haired boy questioned.

“Please, don’t give up on your talent. I know school is a drag, but you need to get your marks back up. Trust me, as fun as it sounds to blow off the work it isn’t worth it,” he said in a very serious tone.

“Huh? I… I won’t give up on it. I’m going to help you, remember?” Shuichi said, confused.

“I know, but we’ve got to graduate first, so until then, make sure you are in good shape okay?” he continued.

“I will… but Rantaro…?” Shuichi didn’t understand why he was talking like this all of a sudden, but he wasn’t sure what was going on in his head.

“But anyways, would you like rides to school? I wouldn’t mind,” Rantaro asked, seemingly out of nowhere.

“Um… I don’t want to be a burden,” Shuichi answered.

“I really don’t mind. It’ll probably be the only time I could see you for a few weeks anyway,” he admitted. Shuichi raised a brow.

“What do you mean?” he asked, confused.

“I… kinda got suspended today too,” he said, his cheeks turning slightly pink.

“Wait? Why?” Shuichi blurted.

“Truthfully, I’ve been in a lot of trouble with the school. They found weed on me one day and caught me skipping a lot, among other things. So that’s why I was working as a tutor. That was their first punishment. But since I broke my promise, they took back their deal and now I’m suspended for a few weeks.”

Shuichi thrust forward suddenly, “Rantaro! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Relax, I didn’t want to worry you,” Rantaro put his hand on Shuichi’s shoulder. He seemed a little flustered, but having Rantaro’s hand on him made him feel a little at ease.

“Then… yes, please! I’d love rides to school, if that means we can spend time together,” he said, his eyes travelling to the window as he watched them turn into his neighborhood.

“Good, I’ll pick you up in the morning then,” the taller boy smiled. Shuichi tried to smile, but he felt bad still. He wished he could do something for Rantaro to help him feel better, getting that news today must’ve been rough. But, before he was able to say anything else, they came upon his home. Shuichi pointed out the building and Rantaro pulled to the side of the road to let Shuichi out.

“Thanks Rantaro, and I’m sorry for…“ Shuichi began, but Rantaro stopped him.

“No apologies,” he insisted. Shuichi stopped, but his eyes travelled back to Rantaro’s sadly,   
“and don’t give me that look.” The taller boy smiled. Shuichi felt a fluttering feeling in his stomach as he sat in the car with Rantaro. It was weird, he hadn’t felt like this with another person before. Rantaro unlocked the door and Shuichi grabbed his bag.

“They’re gonna know I skipped, I’m sure we’ll fight about it,” he thought out loud.

“Probably, but you’ve got some things figured out now right? So it’ll probably be the last one,” Rantaro smiled.

“You’re right, thanks. See you tomorrow then?” Shuichi shot him a soft, earnest smile. Rantaro was glad to see the dark haired boy finally looking happier.

“I’ll look forward to it,” Rantaro grinned. Shuichi opened the door and slid out of the seat. But, Rantaro had one last thought before Shuichi walked off.

“Hey, wait!” Rantaro called, Shuichi stopped and turned to face him again.

“What?”

“Come closer,” Rantaro beckoned. Shuichi leaned his head in closer to Rantaro who swiftly took Shuichi’s hat by the brim and snatched it off of his head, “I’m keeping this for a bit.”

“Hey!” Shuichi tried to grab for it, but Rantaro held it out of his reach.

“Nope! You’ll get it back later,” Rantaro teased.

“What are you doing?” Shuichi continued to struggle for the hat back, but Rantaro was really fighting him on this.

“I’ll give it back, just leave it for now. Trust me on this,” he gave him a mischievous wink. Shuichi backed off and got out of the car.

“See you tomorrow,” he smiled right before he drove off. Shuichi stood there feeling a little anxious about going without his hat. But he tried to shake it off. He didn’t think of Rantaro as a prankster. That was more like Kokichi’s department. Well, that wasn’t a big concern to him now.

Shuichi hesitated to enter his house, but the sooner he got it over with, the better. As he entered the door and kicked his shoes off, he heard his mom stomp down the hallway.

“Shuichi, is that you? I got a call from your school saying…” she was yelling, but as soon as he came into view, she stopped, “you… aren’t wearing your hat dear?”

“I… uh… didn’t feel like wearing it anymore,” he lied. His mom approached him and immediately wrapped her arms around him tightly.

“Oh Shuichi, I’m so happy,” she said. Shuichi was confused, but hugged her back.

“Mom, you’re kind of smothering me,” he choked out after staying like that for a long while. She sighed, letting go of him and stepping back a little.

“Honey, I got a call from your school saying you weren’t in your homeroom today. Did something happen?” she asked.

“Nothing happened. I’ll be honest, I skipped. But I know what I have to do now. I promise, I’ll take school more seriously,” he said, rather intensely. She just smiled at him.

“I hope you mean that, I don’t want any more phone calls okay,” she said sternly.

“I know. I do mean it,” he assured with a smile. She smiled back and left him to get settled in his room.

Shuichi got to his room and dropped his bag on the floor. That interaction sure was weird. He was certain that his mom would have his throat for skipping classes. But the hat… or lack thereof was so distracting, she didn’t seem to care as much. Did… Rantaro know that would happen?

He couldn’t get that thought out of his head. Rantaro was strange sometimes, but he didn’t think he was clairvoyant or anything. He tried to shake the thought and just get his work done for the night. He’d have a lot of catching up to do, so he got right to work until he couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer.


	3. Chapter 3

Shuichi woke up eager the next morning and quickly tried to stuff his loose work into his backpack for school. He had told his mom already that Rantaro was going to be giving him rides to school, which she was weary about at first but after telling his mom a little bit about him, she warmed up to the idea. He made sure to leave out the drug use and suspension however. 

After breakfast as if right on cue, Rantaro pulled up in his truck and honked briefly to let Shuichi know he had arrived. Shuichi hugged his mom goodbye and headed out the door. He popped the door of the truck open and leaped onto the high seat. Rantaro looked back at the house, waving to the person in the window who he assumed was Shuichi’s mom. Shuichi waved too right before he buckled himself in and they took off.

“Good morning,” Rantaro said gleefully.

“Good morning,” Shuichi shot him a cheeky glance, “by chance, did you try to do me a favor yesterday by taking my hat?”

“Off to that already?” Rantaro laughed, “Maybe I did, and maybe I didn’t. What happened yesterday?”

“Mom was gonna stick it to me for skipping class but she saw me without my hat and… she kinda glossed over the whole thing. We had a civil talk about school, and I promised her I’d start taking it seriously,” Shuichi explained as he gripped at his bag.

“In that case, yes,” Rantaro beamed. Shuichi playfully smacked his friend’s shoulder.

“So that answer would have been no if it didn’t go well?” he laughed.

“I just wouldn’t have taken the credit for it,” Rantaro joked, “But I’m glad it worked out. You can have your hat back, it’s behind my seat,” he gestured to a small pocket on the back of his chair. Shuichi reached back and pulled it out and stared at it for a moment. 

“You know… I’ll see what it’s like to go without it for a little while,” Shuichi smiled as he tucked his hat into his backpack. Rantaro gave him a wide smile.

“I think you’re much more handsome without it anyway,” he said, rather softly. But Shuichi still heard him and blushed.

“I… uh… t-thank you,” he accepted the compliment awkwardly.

“Anyway, I found out my parents are going out of town this weekend. You should come over,” Rantaro said.

“Oh, really? I don’t know how my mom would feel about that,” Shuichi said glumly.

“About coming over, or that we’d be alone?” he wanted to confirm.

“Definitely because we’d be alone. I don’t think my mom and I are 100% cool yet, I’d at least need to get my school work caught up first.” Shuichi thought.

“What if I help you do that?” Rantaro offered. Shuichi shook his head.

“No, I can’t ask you to do that. Besides, wouldn’t our teachers know it wasn’t my work?” Shuichi argued.

“I suppose. I’m just lonely at home. Last night was bad enough, but two more weeks of this is going to kill me,” Rantaro said.

“I’ll do my best then!” Shuichi declared, kind of surprisingly, “If I’m caught up by the end of the week, she won’t have a reason to tell me no!”

“I hope so,” Rantaro gave him a soft smile, “I’d really like to spend more time with you.”

“Me too,” Shuichi looked back at him, “Do you want to come back to have lunch with me?”

“I can’t do that, unfortunately. If any faculty catch me hanging around here, I could get in even more trouble. So you’ll have to eat lunch with your other friends. But I’ll be back when school’s out,” Rantaro assured.

“Okay,” Shuichi mumbled. He was disappointed that he wouldn’t be able to see Rantaro more, but with the promise of this weekend Shuichi knew it would be fine. He did have a lot to catch up on, but he knew he could. Today was only Tuesday, there was still plenty of time.

Rantaro pulled up into the schools drop off line and Shuichi said his goodbye before hopping out of his truck. One of the teachers recognized the vehicle and was about to come over and say something but Rantaro stepped on the gas and drove off before he could get close. Shuichi watched Rantaro speed away and laughed.

Before that same teacher caught him, Shuichi darted inside. Hopefully they would just drop it or forget about it. Inside, he made it to class and handed his teacher all the late work he did last night. His teacher was pleasantly surprised and wished Shuichi luck in getting the rest of it done. After that, he went to his seat which was right behind Kaito.

“Hey dude! I missed you yesterday. Where the hell were ya?” Kaito asked as he saw Shuichi approach.

“Sorry, I was… um, sick,” Shuichi lied. He didn’t want to risk his teacher hearing he skipped classes. 

“Shuichi!” Kaede piped in from the seat behind his as she heard his voice, “you aren’t wearing your hat,” she pointed out with a smile.

“Yeah, I just thought I’d try leaving it behind. You know?” he said with a soft smile.

“I think you look better without it,” she beamed.

“Oh, I didn’t even notice!” Kaito said loudly.

“Of course you wouldn’t,” another voice added as she entered the room. It was Maki. She came up to Kaito and gave him a quick kiss, “he was worried about you yesterday though.”

“Hey…” Kaito whined. The other three laughed.

“It seems like you’re doing much better now Shuichi,” Kaede noted.

“I am,” Shuichi agreed. Shortly after that, class started and Shuichi actually didn’t feel too drained to pay attention. It was nice to finally be able to focus again. The day flew by like that and soon enough it was lunch period. The four of them finally were able to hang out at lunch again with Shuichi present. They grabbed their food from the cafeteria and had a seat at their usual table.

“So Shuichi, I’ve been meaning to ask…” Kaito said right before he shoveled a big clump of rice into his mouth, “waffs wiff oo an wantawo?” he attempted to ask but couldn’t be understood with his mouthful.

“Kaito!” Maki slapped him hard on the back, causing him to almost choke on his rice, “don’t take a bite before your finished talking!”

“I think he’s trying to ask what the deal is with you and Rantaro?” Kaede clarified. Kaito nodded in agreement.

“Oh, well, he was supposed to tutor me after school last week because of my slipping grades. And we sorta became friends after that,” he explained.

“Hm… I guess that explains why he was asking us about you last week,” Maki pondered.

“What?” Shuichi wondered. He had no idea Rantaro talked to his friends.

“Yeah,” Kaito finally swallowed his food so he could be understood, “he wanted to know what had you so down, but we didn’t know either so we couldn’t tell him anything.”

“What was up with you? You were acting really weird for a while, but you’re okay all of a sudden?” Kaede asked.

“I was having a bad case of insomnia, so I was just really beat from the lack of sleep,” he said. Obviously he knew that wasn’t the whole truth, but he wasn’t really lying either.

“Just insomnia? You blew us off for weeks because of that?” Maki said, sounding very judgmental.

“Sorry, but yeah. I was really depressed because of it and I didn’t want to be a burden,” he said, sweating as Maki’s eyes bore into him.

“You know you can come to us with that stuff too,” Kaede said, sounding a bit miffed.

“Sorry, I will next time okay,” he said with a smiled.

“You better,” Kaede pouted.

“But anyway, you and Rantaro are tight now? I didn’t expect that,” Kaito said, “Although I can’t say any of us know that much about him.”

“Wait, he wasn’t at school yesterday either… or today for that matter,” Maki added as she looked around the cafeteria for him. He wasn’t anywhere to be found.

“Yeah, we were together yesterday. I skipped class because he asked me to. Just, don’t say anything in front of the teachers okay? I don’t want him getting into any more trouble,” Shuichi explained.

“Wait… you skipped class?” Kaede chuckled like she couldn’t believe it.

“Yes, I’m not proud of it, but it helped me get my head on straight so I think it was a good thing,” he explained.

“So why is Rantaro gone again? He could’ve hung out with us too,” Kaito asked.

“He… got suspended,” Shuichi said hesitantly. Rantaro never said that he wanted to keep that a secret. Shuichi trusted his friends though, they weren’t exactly the gossiping type.

“Wait what?” Kaito said loudly.

“Shush! Yes, I don’t know the full extent of why, but I know part of the reason is because of me. He was trying to help me out by letting me out of tutoring and he ended up losing his position and getting suspended. But he hasn’t said what else he did to get to that point beside skipping classes too much.” He explained. 

“That’s… kind of sweet of him though,” Maki mused, “he’d risk getting in trouble to help you out.”

“Yeah, but I feel bad about it. Like I owe him for the trouble,” Shuichi admitted.

“He was doing you a favor, you can pay him back just by being a good friend. I’d have done the same thing for ya!” Kaito said enthusiastically. Shuichi smiled as he finally took a bite out of his sandwich. As he did, a head popped out from behind the booth next to them and nearly caused Shuichi to choke.

“Wow Shuichi! That’s a lot of helpful information!” the worst person to have overheard their conversation was of course the one who was finally poking his tiny head in.

“Kokichi! Mind your own business!” Shuichi yelled.

“Aw, but that’s no fun!” he grinned mischievously, “So tell me more about you and Rantaro! It sounds saucy,” he giggled.

“What? No! You’ve got that wrong,” Shuichi insisted.

“Kokichi? What are you doing?” Keebo’s voice could be heard from the table Kokichi was at. Kokichi made a face and sat back down. He didn’t talk to them again during their lunch period, but just in case, Shuichi decided not to say anything else about Rantaro.

After lunch, things went pretty smoothly. It had been a while since Shuichi was actually able to have a good day at school. He wasn’t even nervous about joining gym class today, now that he was rested.

In the locker room, he was getting changed into his gym clothes when somebody slid up next to him and slammed the lockers while Shuichi wasn’t paying attention, causing him to jump. He yelped and shot up to see who made that sound, and sure enough it was him. That shit eating grin smeared across his face as usual.

“Damnit Kokichi!” Shuichi yelled at him, “I know you think you’re funny when you do that stuff, but nobody else finds it amusing!” he berates.

“I never said I do it for the amusement of others,” Kokichi said with an evil glint in his eyes, “I wasn’t done talking to you from earlier so I thought we’d talk real quick,”

“About what?” Shuichi asked, immediately wishing he hadn’t.

“Rantaro might be into you,” he said bluntly. Shuichi nearly choked.

“What? No…” he said.

“Yeah, I think he’s totally into you,” Kokichi’s face got serious all of a sudden, which didn’t mean anything.

“Why do you think that?” Shuichi challenged.

“Oh come on,” Kokichi sighed, “He’s such a loner here, but all of a sudden you two are best friends. And he’s taking the fall for you to the point of getting suspended. You don’t do that kind of stuff for just anyone,” he said. Shuichi hated to admit it, but Kokichi was actually making a little bit of sense. He shook his head, trying to find a flaw in his reasoning.

“How do you even know he’s… you know?” he said, not wanting to use any specific words.

“You don’t know?” Kokichi’s eyes widened, “he’s totally gay.”

“How do you know?” Shuichi asked.

“He asked me out once,” Kokichi grinned.

“No he didn’t,” Shuichi glared at him.

“Yeah huh!” Kokichi replied childishly.

“You’re lying,” Shuichi accused.

“Maybe I am, but I do know he plays for the same team. That’s not a lie,” Kokichi said.

“I don’t believe you.”

“Well it’s true, but I guess you’ll just have to ask him yourself now since you don’t believe me,” he grinned. Why was he like this?

Just as Shuichi was getting to his breaking point with Kokichi, an angel swooped n to save him from this headache personified. An angel in the form of a robotic teenager. Keebo walked by and called to Kokichi, who immediately started snickering at the other boy.

“Keebo, you don’t have to wear the gym uniform you know. The teachers already told you that you don’t need it. Plus it looks ridiculous!” he was commenting on the hilarity that was Keebo stuffed into the t-shirt and shorts with all of his bulky robot parts underneath. None of the sizes of uniforms really worked for him without being too big to work out in, so the coach waived Keebo from needing to wear a gym uniform. However, Keebo insisted that he wear one anyway to fit in with everyone else.

“I know! But I want to match with everyone!” he argued, “and we’re gonna be late! And then we’ll have to run laps, so let’s go!” 

“Ugh, fine!” Kokichi reluctantly let Keebo drag him long. Shuichi mouthed a silent thank you to the robot as he walked Kokichi away from him. He looked back briefly and shot him a smile.

Besides the interactions with Kokichi, Shuichi actually had a good day. He was glad to be done though, he needed to rush home so he could get back to catching up on homework. Plus, he got to see Rantaro again on the ride home.

As soon as he saw Rantaro’s truck down the road he ran to the curb so he could get in quickly in case he got noticed again. He pulled up right next to the young detective and Shuichi hopped inside as fast as he could so they could go.

“Hey,” Rantaro said with a smile.

“Hey,” Shuichi smiled back.

“You look like you had a good day,” he said as he turned his eyes back to the road so he could drive off. Nobody saw him this time, thankfully.

“I did,” he said, “I wish you could have been there too though,” he said softly.

“Me too. I’m not a fan of school, but the animosity at home is way worse,” Rantaro half-heartedly chuckled.

“I’m sorry, I wish I could help,” Shuichi said.

“It’s okay, you just focus on getting caught up so you can hang out with me this weekend,” he urged.

“I will! That’s all I’m focused on this week,” Shuichi said confidently.

“Good,” he smiled. Things got quiet for a moment between them. Shuichi had put it out of his mind earlier, but now that he was with Rantaro again, the stuff Kokichi was saying popped back into his head. He wanted to ask, it was just hard to bring up.

“I should apologize, earlier I was asked about you by my other friends and I told them you were suspended,” he began, thinking maybe he could slip his question into this conversation somehow.

“That’s fine, you mean Maki, Kaito and Kaede right?” he said, “Did you tell them why?”

“Not entirely. Just that part of it was because you let me skip tutoring and skipped classes a lot,” he said truthfully, “but Kokichi was listening in and I didn’t realize, I’m sorry about that. I definitely wouldn’t have told him anything,” he said.

“Whatever, Kokichi is harmless really. He just likes to be annoying,” Rantaro laughed.

“Yeah, he was saying some weird stuff today about you too,” Shuichi said, giving himself a mental pat on the back for that segue.

Rantaro sighed, “What is it this time?” he asked.

“Does… he do this to you often?” Shuichi wondered.

“Yeah, he likes to make stuff up about me a lot. Probably because I’m not super open at school so maybe he thinks I’m an easy target?” he explained.

“Well, he told me that you’re… gay,” Shuichi said with some hesitation. As soon as the word escaped his lips he was thrust forward fast enough to activate the auto lock on his seatbelt. He was taken by surprise, and at first he thought somebody may have hit them. He looked at Rantaro who looked white as a ghost all of a sudden.

“R…Rantaro?” Shuichi asked, sounding concerned. He looked behind them and didn’t see another car, so Rantaro must’ve slammed on the breaks.

“How… could he have known?” Rantaro asked barely audibly, but Shuichi still heard him.

“Wait… he wasn’t lying?” Shuichi was shocked, but he tried not to let it show in his tone.

“There’s no way he could have known… I haven’t told anyone yet,” Rantaro looked really flustered. He was still sitting there in the middle of the road thinking over the situation in his head. Eventually somebody rolled up behind them and honked, snapping Rantaro out of his daze and he quickly drove to the closest curb and pulled over.

“Rantaro, are you okay?” Shuichi asked after they had stopped, “I think Kokichi was just trying to mess with me,” he tried to reassure the light brown haired teen.

“I… wasn’t expecting this to come out now,” he finally spoke up.

“I mean, I’m sorry, I didn’t mention it to freak you out. I just thought you should know what Kokichi was saying. But there’s no way anybody will believe him. So it’s okay,” Shuichi tried to help him feel better.

“I guess, I can’t keep it a secret forever,” Rantaro sighed, “God that kid is annoying,”

Shuichi chuckled, “I know.”

“Well, I guess part of me is a little relieved that somebody knows now. As long as…” he paused, glancing over at Shuichi nervously, “this doesn’t change anything between us,”

“What? No, why would it?” Shuichi smiled. He thought it was kind of cute that Rantaro was so nervous about this.

“I’ve… never been good about making guy friends, so I thought this might be weird. But thank you Shuichi, I feel better about this,” he said, his face starting to look normal again.

“I would never quit being your friend because you’re gay. That’s ridiculous,” he laughed. Rantaro smiled back at him, his cheeks slightly pink. He couldn’t tell if he was embarrassed or just really happy.

“Let’s get you home,” He said after a few moments. He was feeling more at ease so he could finish the trip to Shuichi’s house. When they got there, Rantaro still was looking pretty vulnerable but he smiled at the dark clad boy.

“Thank you Shuichi,” he began, “I hope you still want to hang out this weekend, but if not I understand,” 

Clearly this was making Rantaro really nervous still. Shuichi reached his arm out and placed it on Rantaro’s shoulder.

“I’m going to work my ass off so I can hang out with you this weekend,” He smiled, “I wouldn’t do that for just anyone. Please try not to worry about it,” he assured. Rantaro gave him a soft smile.

“I’m sorry this is freaking me out, and please keep this between us. I’ll tell everyone else when I’m ready. Just… not yet,” he asked.

“Of course, you’re secret’s safe with me.”

“I’ll… see you tomorrow then?” Rantaro asked.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Shuichi said as he grabbed his bag and opened the door. Rantaro gave him a relieved stare as he waved goodbye to the dark haired teen. As soon as Shuichi was safely inside, he left to head back home. Rantaro’s heart was pounding during that whole trip. He had never thought that would come up. Damn that Kokichi. He knew Shuichi must’ve been curious to find out if he was telling the truth or not. That was just his nature.

He was happy that Shuichi was the first to find out though. He was so accepting and nice about it, even though Rantaro was terrified of anyone finding out. It seemed weird to him now to be so scared, he didn’t have a reason to be. He was able to enjoy the rest of his drive home without worrying too much. Now he just wished Shuichi was able to get his work done so they wouldn’t have any problems this weekend.


	4. Chapter 4

Rantaro looked forward to the beginning and end of school every day since he was able to see his friend again. All week, he managed to avoid being caught by the school for the frequent returns and toward the end of the week, he started taking longer routes back to Shuichi’s house so they had more time to talk. It was so nice to finally have a real friend around.

It was finally Friday though, and Shuichi had assured him that he was for sure going to be caught up with his work by the end of the night. Rantaro was ecstatic. Shuichi had already asked his mom about going over to his friend’s house for the weekend and she said yes as long as he was done with all his work and chores.

When he dropped off the young detective that day, he bashfully handed him his phone number. He felt weird doing it now, they probably should have exchanged numbers a while ago.

“I’ll let you know when I’m ready tomorrow if you want to come pick me up?” Shuichi half told, half asked. He didn’t want to impose on Rantaro for rides all the time, but he did seem to enjoy doing it.

“You bet! Now you better finish up your work tonight so we can do this,” he urged playfully.

“I know, I’ve already done so much. Everyone’s really impressed with me too,” he said excitedly.

"I'm glad," Rantaro said.

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” Shuichi smiled as he took his bag in his hands and opened up the car door.

“Yeah, I’ll look forward to it,” Rantaro smiled back at him. Shuichi left and Rantaro drove off. He wasn’t doubting that Shuichi would be able to do what he needed for them to get together, but part of him was nervous about having Shuichi over at his house. He hasn’t brought anybody to his house in a long time.

Shuichi went straight to his room and got to work after he let him mom know he was home. She was cooking and told him that she would be happy to bring him dinner when it was ready. He opened up the last of his homework and well as the homework he got today and got right to work.

It was late at night when Shuichi finally got done, but he finished. He was exhausted and his mind felt like mush after all the work but he was happy that he powered through and got it all done. He took the plate that his mom brought him hours ago back to the kitchen and passed his mom in the living room watching TV.

“Hey mom, I’m all done,” He said with a tired smile.

“Really? Wow…” she was pretty tired too, it showed in her voice, “I’m proud of you Shuichi.”

“Thanks mom,” Shuichi said, “So can I go to Rantaro’s this weekend?”

“Of course, you’ve earned it,” She said sleepily. She turned the TV off and got up from the chair. She walked up to him and gave him a quick hug.

“I’m going to bed, see you in the morning Shuichi,” she said. Shuichi hugged her back.

“Goodnight mom,” he wished as she made her way to her room. Shuichi went back to his own and grabbed his phone. He entered Rantaro’s phone number into his contacts and sent him a quick text.

‘Hey, it’s Shuichi. Sorry it’s late but I just finished my work, so I will definitely see you tomorrow!’

He sent the text and went immediately to get ready for bed. When he was done and came back to his bed to lay down, he checked his phone one last time, seeing that Rantaro responded.

‘Yes!! You’re the best Shuichi! Let me know when you’re ready tomorrow and I’ll come get you. But until then, have a good night.’

Shuichi smiled. Rantaro was so happy and he was happy to do that for him. He texted back a quick good night and set his phone aside so he could get some sleep. It wasn’t long before he passed out.

In the morning, Shuichi quickly got his things ready for the day so they could spend as much time together as possible. He knew Rantaro was lonely over there by himself, so he wanted to make sure he could hang out as long as possible. After his bag was packed, he got dressed. Since he didn’t have to wear his school uniform, he was able to actually wear his regular clothes. He put on his pin striped pants and jacket over a plain button up shirt. He was still nicely dressed even on the weekends, but he much preferred this aesthetic to the boring school uniforms.

He quickly ate the breakfast his mom had prepared for him and texted Rantaro fairly early.

‘Good morning! I know it’s still early but I’m ready to come over at any time.’

He didn’t have to wait long for a response.

‘Awesome! I’ve got a few more things to take care of but I’ll let you know when I’m on my way.’

Shuichi decided to just kick back for a while and watched a couple of shows with his mom while he waited for Rantaro to text him again.

After the second show was over, Shuichi got the text that Rantaro was on his way. He went to grab his backpack that he put a spare set of clothes and some necessities for overnight and waited until he saw Rantaro drive up. He said goodbye to his mom and went outside quickly. Rantaro greeted him with a smile as Shuichi got into his car.

“Hey,” Rantaro greeted.

“Hey,” Shuichi greeted back.

“To be honest, I’m kinda nervous to have you over,” Rantaro said as he pulled away from the curb.

“Why?” Shuichi raised his brow.

“It’s been a while since I’ve had guests, and I just don’t want you to be shocked when you see my house,” he said.

“Why would I be shocked?” Shuichi wondered. Rantaro wasn’t making a whole lot of sense. He immediately thought that maybe he lived in a sketchy neighborhood or that his house was in a bad state. Boy was he wrong.

Rantaro drove to one of the richest neighborhoods in the area. All the homes here were gated off from the road and you had to input a code to open them. Rantaro approached one and dialed a number, and the gate slowly started to twist open. He had a nervous expression as they drove up the long driveway, just waiting for a reaction as the house came into view.

“No way…” Shuichi muttered as they made their way to the garage, which Rantaro opened with a remote control stuck to his dashboard, “you actually live here?” Shuichi tried not to sound so surprised, but it was hard not to be.

“Sorry I didn’t tell you, I don’t like telling people but my family’s actually pretty wealthy,” he said as he parked his truck in his spot. Shuichi could understand why he wouldn’t bring it up. He probably wouldn’t want anybody to think he was bragging or anything.

“This is… crazy,” Shuichi said with a smile. He didn’t want Rantaro to think he was judging him or anything, but he was genuinely surprised.

“Yeah, it is. I’ve lost friends because of this though, so I don’t bring it up. And I usually never bring people over,” Rantaro said, “but I trust you. So can you promise me not to say anything about this to anybody?” he looked over at him with pleading eyes.

“I promise,” Shuichi smiled at him. He could tell this was really hard for Rantaro to share.

“You wanna look around then?” he offered. Shuichi nodded and they both got out of the car. Rantaro had a grocery bag with him as they walked inside.

“I just gotta put this food away. And you can set your stuff in my room,” Rantaro said as he implied that Shuichi follow him to the kitchen. Shuichi did, but he couldn’t help but ogle at the inside of his house as they walked through. They entered into the living room through the garage. The whole area was big and spacious. The ceiling reached past the second story with long light fixtures that hung from above. They had one of those semi-circular couches placed directly next to a fireplace. He chased after Rantaro before he got too distracted and they made their way to the kitchen. They had an island set up in the center with a sink and stove on it, as well as a surrounding counter with the rest of the necessary appliances. Rantaro put some of his groceries in the fridge and the rest he put into their walk in pantry.

“Overwhelmed yet?” Rantaro asked as he came out of the pantry, seeing the wide eyed look on Shuichi’s face.

“A little,” Shuichi said honestly, “but it’s okay,”

“Alright, come with me to my room,” Rantaro suggested. Shuichi followed him again to a spiral staircase leading upstairs. The second floor wasn’t nearly as big as the first, but this seemed to be where all the bedrooms were. Rantaro’s room was at the end of the hallway and it even had a cute sign with his name on it.

Rantaro’s bedroom was incredible. The first thing he noticed was a dug out section of the floor that was made into a round bench that was full of pillows and soft things. Rantaro’s bed was off to one side along with a desk and working area next to it.

“This is… amazing,” Shuichi grinned as his eyes darted around the room. Rantaro had decorated the walls with a lot of nautical themed knick-knacks and maps and things related to his talent as the ultimate adventurer. He looked over at Rantaro who was looking pretty vulnerable right now. He wasn’t talking much and his cheeks were flushed pink.

“Hey, are you okay?” Shuichi asked.

“Sorry, like I said, this is pretty weird for me,” he admitted.

“No, I understand. Sorry if I’m overreacting, I’ve just never seen anything like this before,” Shuichi apologized.

“I’ve just… had a bad experience before, so I’m kinda apprehensive,” Rantaro explained.

“But you wanted me to come over in the first place?” Shuichi questioned.

“I know. That’s because it’s really lonely in here all the time,” he said. Shuichi sighed. That made sense. What fun is all this space and luxury if you’re lonely?

“If you ever need company, I’d be more than happy to spend time with you Rantaro,” Shuichi said sympathetically. Rantaro took a deep breath and gave him a soft smile.

“Thank you Shuichi,” he said. Shuichi didn’t want to push him to share his bad experience, but he was curious. Clearly something pretty bad happened if it brings him this much anxiety to just show his house to somebody. Shuichi wouldn’t pester him about it, and he decided to change the subject. He looked around the room for something else to talk about and his eyes fell on a glass door leading to what he assumed must be outside.

“Is… that a door to a balcony?” he asked. Rantaro looked at the door and grinned.

“Yeah, you wanna check it out?” he asked. Shuichi nodded and he led Shuichi to the door. He kept it locked most of the time just in case so he flipped the knob unlocked and opened it. There was a skinny but long deck along the walls of his room outside that overlooked a marina behind the house. There was a dock and a boat tied up in the back. Shuichi couldn’t see the full name of the boat, but he could make out the Amami name on the back.

“You even have a boat?” Shuichi said. Rantaro nodded.

“Yeah, I love that boat. I take it out all the time, even though dad doesn’t like me to,” Rantaro said longingly.

“I’ve never been on a boat before,” Shuichi said.

“Maybe I’ll take you out some time,” the taller teen offered. Shuichi nodded.

“That would be cool, if you don’t mind,” he agreed.

“Not this time, but soon. I promise I will,” the taller teen smirked. Just then, Shuichi felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and pulled it out to check on it. He got a text from his mom and as he read it, his eyes got wide in fear.

“What’s up?” Rantaro asked.

“Oh shit…” Shuichi cursed, “My mom wants to talk to one of your parents,”

“Why?” he asked. 

“She does this sometimes. Overprotective parent things. This is bad though, what do I tell her?” Shuichi panicked. Rantaro held his hand out over his phone and got his attention.

“I have an idea. Your mom can’t tell you saw the message yet right?” He asked. Shuichi shook his head.

“Okay, our housekeeper lives in the guest house next door. She’s cool. If I slip her some extra cash, I’m sure she’ll help us out,” Rantaro said. Everything he just said sounded so insane, but he seemed pretty confident about this. The two of them rushed to the backyard where they could get access to the housekeepers place. Sure enough there was a smaller house next door, still a fairly large place however, where this woman lived. Rantaro quickly walked up and knocked on her door. A fairly young and spunky looking woman opened the door after a while. She was in pajamas and her hair was tied up in a messy bun but she answered the door with a smirk.

“Ah, the young master Amami. What do I owe the occasion?” she said in a mockingly stereotypical rich person voice.

“Hey Keiko, can I ask you for a favor?” he said. She raised a brow.

“What did you do this time?” She asked, crossing her arms.

“Nothing! I just invited my friend over, Shuichi, and his mom wants to speak to mine. Problem is, she’s not here,” he explained, and kind of introduced Shuichi at the same time. Shuichi waved at her nervously.

“Got it, I envy you kids and your problems sometimes,” she half laughed but quickly shot Rantaro a look, “you got cash?”

“Of course,” he pulled out his wallet and took two fairly large bills out and handed it over. She took it and smiled.

“Alright boys, get her on the phone,” she said. Shuichi quickly dialed his mom and apologized for not responding right away. She asked immediately to speak to one of Rantaro’s parents and he handed the phone to Keiko. She very quickly turned on a persona of what could have been Rantaro’s mother. It was almost scary how convincing she was too.

They couldn’t hear the whole conversation, but apparently his mom had asked to get to know Rantaro’s parents over dinner or something but Keiko told her that just his dad was out of town for a while, so it would be some time, but that she would love to. Shuichi smiled as he listened in.

“She’s good,” he laughed quietly as he whispered to Rantaro.

“I know, Keiko’s been saving my ass for years,” he chuckled. She finished up her conversation as soon as Shuichi’s mom was satisfied and handed the phone back. Shuichi talked to his mom a little longer and eventually said goodbye. He sighed after he hung up.

“See, all good right?” Rantaro patted his shoulder.

“Alright, now get out of here. It’s my day off,” Keiko said in a gruff but playful tone, “but if you need anything… just call first okay?” she said.

“Thank you so much Keiko, have a good night,” Rantaro wished as she said goodbye and went back inside. Shuichi and Rantaro had a laugh about it and went back to the house. Rantaro took him back to his room and asked if he wanted to watch a movie to try and relax after all that. He had one picked out for Shuichi that he thought the boy might like. Shuichi agreed and Rantaro lead him to the circular bench in the floor and told him to sit down. In the center of the bench was what turned out to be an ottoman. Shuichi watched as Rantaro opened it, revealing a projector set up. It was pointed at the ceiling, like a theater you can lay down at.

“Do you want to draw the blinds?” Rantaro asked as he dug around for the movie ha was thinking of. Shuichi nodded and pulled the blinds over all the windows. He had blackout shades set up over every window probably for this purpose. When it was plenty dark in his room, Shuichi stumbled his way back to his spot and scooted close to Rantaro so he could watch from a good angle. They laid back and watched the film surrounded by fluffy pillows. Shuichi had never been more comfortable in his life.

Shuichi was surprised that Rantaro managed to pick out his favorite movie to watch. He glanced over at him when he realized what they were watching and smiled. Rantaro smiled back. They both turned their heads back and watched in silence.

After the movie was over, Shuichi could feel himself falling asleep. He sat up to avoid passing out in the middle of the afternoon. He was just so comfy it was hard not to. He looked at the boy next to him and chuckled a bit. Rantaro actually did fall asleep. His face was illuminated by the glow of the projector screen. Shuichi could see the peaceful look on his face as he dozed off.

He really didn’t want to wake him, but he knew Rantaro would feel bad if he fell asleep for too long while he was over. So Shuichi gently nudged his shoulder to wake him. Rantaro grumbled as he slowly came back to consciousness. He yawned as he sat up and rubbed his eyes.

“I’m… sorry I passed out,” he said sleepily.

“It’s okay,” Shuichi smiled. Rantaro stretched and got to his feet. He went to open the blinds again so it wasn’t so dark inside. That might have attributed to his sleepiness. When the room was light again, he shut off the projector and covered it back up with the lid of the ottoman. 

“You getting hungry?” Rantaro asked after he’d cleaned up. Shuichi nodded.

“Did you want to order in or something?” Shuichi wondered. That was almost the protocol for hanging out with friends, at least in his own experience.

“If you really want to,” Rantaro said, “But I thought I’d cook something for us.”

“What? I mean, you don’t have to do that,” Shuichi was surprised by his offer, but at the same time Rantaro had probably planned their whole day. And if he really wanted to cook for him, he shouldn’t deny him the opportunity.

“Really, I’m actually pretty good at it. Not as good as Kirumi from class, but pretty good,” he said coyly.

“Yeah, okay. That sounds nice,” Shuichi smiled.

The two of them left Rantaro's room and walked back to the kitchen. Rantaro said he could do as he pleased as he prepared a meal for them. Shuichi couldn’t help but be curious about the rest of the house, but he didn’t want to snoop too much so he stayed where he knew Rantaro could see him. He watched as Rantaro tied an apron around his waist and started getting to work. Shuichi said he’d eat whatever he made so he would be surprised.

Rantaro looked really happy just to not be here by himself. Shuichi ended up sitting at the table so he could talk to Rantaro while he cooked so they could talk. Shuichi was enjoying watching him as he worked. Rantaro was just full of constant surprises, which was appealing to Shuichi’s detective brain.


	5. Chapter 5

“Since it’s still nice outside, I thought we could eat on the patio,” Rantaro said, his focus still on the food he was prepping.

“That sounds nice,” Shuichi commented. Honestly, whatever Rantaro was cooking smelled delicious. He didn’t realize how hungry he was until he started smelling it.

“I’m gonna set up out there while this simmers for a minute, be right back,” the tall teen went out the back door with some items in his hands, presumably utensils and dishes. Shuichi got up and peaked at what he was making, but he had never seen food like this before. He figured it was something that Rantaro had while abroad in some foreign country. 

Rantaro came back in and saw him eying his cooking and chuckled.

“It’ll be done soon,” he assured. Shuichi jumped a little, he was so focused that he didn’t hear Rantaro come back in.

“I’ve never had anything like this before,” he said.

“I think you’ll like it,” Rantaro smiled as he slipped in behind Shuichi and stirred the contents of the pot. He used some chopsticks to fish a noodle out of the pot and tasted it to see if it was ready.

“Can you carry that jar there outside and a spoon?” Rantaro asked, pointing to a jar full of green stuff. Rantaro carried the pot and another plate with some grilled chicken cuts on it and followed Shuichi outside. When the shorter teen opened the door he paused for a second.

“Is that a hot tub?” he asked as he looked out over the patio.

“Yeah, you wanna try it out later?” he asked.

“I didn’t bring a swimsuit though,” Shuichi said, sounding disappointed.

“That’s fine, you can always skinny dip,” Rantaro said in a suggestive tone. Shuichi gasped loudly, nearly dropping the jar he was holding. Rantaro laughed.

“I’m kidding,” he quickly recovered, “you can borrow one of mine.” Shuichi huffed at Rantaro’s initial comment and continued out the door, holding it open so Rantaro could make it outside despite his hands being full. He placed the pot on a hot pad placed in the center of a small table outside. He set down the other plate of meat next to it and gestured for Shuichi to sit.

The dark clad teen sat down in front of one of the flat bowls Rantaro set out earlier. He scooped up a little bit of noodles and put it in the bowl. Then he topped it off with some strips of chicken. He set it down back in front of Shuichi and reached for the jar of green stuff. He took a spoonful of that and placed it on top of the rest.

“I didn’t give you much because it’s pretty rich, but if you want more then let me know,” Rantaro said. He gave himself some of everything and sat down in his chair. He waited until Shuichi had taken a bite before he ate any for himself. The dark haired boy’s eyes widened as he tasted his cooking.

“Oh my god, this is amazing,” he said, his mouth was still full so he had covered it with his hand.

“I’m glad you like it,” Rantaro said, eating some for himself, “This is pretty standard Italian food. Which is probably my favorite out of all the places I’ve been.”

The two boys ate their dinner and chatted in the quiet night air. It was very peaceful outside with the sound of the steady crashing of the waves nearby. 

“This is really nice,” Shuichi said, after a few moments of silence while he took in the scene, “Thank you for this Rantaro.”

“It’s a pleasure,” he said graciously. When they were both done, Rantaro took the dishes and was going to walk them inside.

“Wait!” Shuichi said before he went back inside, “let me help.” Rantaro was going to tell im not to, but Shuichi quickly got up and grabbed the pot and hot pad underneath it and followed him in. Rantaro placed the dirty dishes in the sink and grabbed a container to save the rest of the noodle in. He asked if Shuichi could finish bringing the stuff inside and he’d put t in the fridge.

“Thanks for the help,” he said, drying his hands off with the kitchen towel, “do you still want to try out the hot tub?”

“Yes!” Shuichi said excitedly. 

“Alright, then I’ll find you a swimsuit to borrow,” Rantaro gestured Shuichi to follow him back to his room. He went to his closet and started digging through a drawer. Shuichi watched from a distance as Rantaro searched. Eventually, he pulled out a pair of black swimming trunks and tossed them at Shuichi.

“Here, these were a bit too small for me, so they’ll probably fit you,” he said, “The bathroom’s two doors down, you can change in there. And grab yourself a towel.”

Shuichi left to change in the bathroom and Rantaro grabbed his swimsuit and changed before Shuichi would come back into his room. Shuichi came back into his room a few minutes later, holding a towel with his arms crossed across his chest. He wasn’t expecting to be met by a mostly nude Rantaro though and his face started to turn pink when he laid eyes on him.

The shorts he had given him were pretty long, coming down to his knees. So he figured Rantaro would be dressed similarly, but the one he was wearing was really short. Short and tight. He could feel his face turning red so he tried to turn around so Rantaro wouldn’t see his face, but he surely noticed.

Rantaro thought about saying something about the skimpy suit he had on. Unfortunately, he didn’t realize how long it had been since he’s needed to wear any of these and most of them were too small. The only other one he had was for school and it was in his locker there. He figured that he may just make things more awkward by mentioning it though, so he held back. Instead, he made his way to the bathroom to get a towel for himself, as well as a small black bag and made his way back outside.

Shuichi gladly let Rantaro walk ahead of him, so he wouldn’t have a chance to mention the redness of his cheeks. He tried not to stare directly at him, but he couldn’t help but gaze at the other boy while he had the chance. Rantaro always wore such baggy clothing but he was actually pretty slender. Well, except for his particularly plump backside. Shuichi had to look away as he followed behind him to avoid having weird thoughts. Thankfully, Rantaro couldn’t see his face right now.

They got back downstairs and outside where Rantaro was quick to walk down the steps into the hot water to attempt to cover up a little more. He placed his towel and that black case close by so he could reach them easily. Shuichi was able to calm his inner thoughts as Rantaro sat down in the hot water. He placed his towel next to Rantaro’s and dipped his foot in to test the water first.

“It’s not too hot is it?” Rantaro asked. Shuichi shook his head.  
“I don’t think so,” he said as he fully stepped inside. The rush of warmth felt amazing on his body. He sat down on the opposite side of Rantaro and laid back as far as he could without his head going under the water. 

“This is so nice,” Shuichi hummed mostly to himself but Rantaro chuckled.

“It is, I haven’t been in here in quite a while so I forgot how good it feels,” Rantaro said as he was shuffling around. Shuichi looked up to see his reaching for that black case. He unzipped it and took out a different piece of glass than the one he had stashed in his car.

“Is that…?” Shuichi began to ask, but he didn’t really want to call it by name in case he was wrong.

“Yeah, do you mind?” Rantaro asked before he smoked any. Shuichi shook his head no.

“I thought you said you only smoke for anxiety?” Shuichi wondered, “Are you anxious now?”

“A little bit if I’m being honest,” Rantaro admitted, “Like I said, this is pretty rare for me to have guests and last time I did, it ruined that friendship. I know I shouldn’t worry about you, he was showing some red flags before then, but it’s been in the back of my mind all day,” he explained. He lit up the lighter that was also in the bag after placing the green bud into the bowl and inhaled the smoke. Shuichi eyed him curiously.

“Do you mind if I ask what happened?” Shuichi asked tentatively. Rantaro blew out the breath he was holding and shuffled nervously, trying to get comfortable again.

“I made a friend back in middle school who was a bit of a mooch. Thinking back on it now, that should have been my warning sign. But I brought him over here and he started acting really weird after that,” He explained, “He started guilt tripping me for not paying his way for anything we’d do, and he started telling everybody that I was rich so everybody started trying to befriend me so they could get me to give them things, I guess?”

Shuichi stirred on his words for a moment. He couldn’t relate to Rantaro about this, but it seemed that it was hard for Rantaro to trust people who knew this about him. And for a good reason.

“So anyway, I wasn’t going to give all these people what they wanted and then they all turned on me and thought I was a spoiled asshole, so I just started spending all my time alone,” Rantaro said with a sigh. He took another hit from his pipe and looked off into the ocean.

“Rantaro…” Shuichi’s heart hurt as he heard those words escape his friend’s lips. The taller teen was still avoiding eye contact, but he gave a softened smile as he looked out to sea.

“It sounds pretty sad, but it gave me more chances to go out exploring,” he said, staring to sound a little bit more upbeat, “those people weren’t the kind of company I’d want to keep anyway.”

Shuichi looked at him, trying to give him a sweet smile. Rantaro looked back at him finally and grinned.

“It’s okay, really. I’m grateful to be away from all those jerks. They did mess me up a bit though,” he tried to laugh it off.

“That must’ve been pretty hard to deal with, but I’m glad that you trust me enough to share this with me,” Shuichi said.

“It’s funny, I haven’t really known you for all that long, but I feel like I can tell you anything,” Rantaro smiled, “I’ve never been this open with anybody else.”

They were quiet for a moment after that. Shuichi kept glancing over at the taller boy who was leaning back into the water his eyes closed. The young detective felt like there was a pit in his stomach, something that had been bothering him for a little while now. Rantaro was being open with him, so he should be able to do the same with him right? He thought back to their conversation in the back of Rantaro’s car. He barely knew him then, and something about Rantaro made him feel safe enough to cry in front of him. He figured there would be no better person to talk to.

“Hey Rantaro… can I ask you something else?” Shuichi shifted nervously. The taller teen straightened his neck so he could see the young detective.

“Of course,” he said, his tone sounding serious. Shuichi swallowed the lump in his throat and asked hesitantly.

“How… did you know you were gay?”

Rantaro gave him a quizzing look, though not in a judgmental way. More so just curious. He gave it a short thought and explained, “Well, I guess it started becoming more obvious when I realized that I had little interest in girls.”

“Have you ever dated anybody?” Shuichi added.

“I did have one girlfriend, well, kind of,” he laughed, “She asked me out and I felt bad saying no. She was very nice and everything, but I just wasn’t into her in… that way.”

“That’s all?” Shuichi asked, sounding kind of surprised.

“You think I’m the type to date a lot?” Rantaro asked coyly. Shuichi’s face quickly flushed red.

“No! No, I mean, I feel like you would get asked out a lot is all,” he tried to explain. Rantaro couldn’t help but grin widely.

“And why is that?” he grilled. Shuichi was not used to being the one bombarded by questions and he was feeling more and more embarrassed as the taller teen pushed him.

“I mean, you’re nice and easy to talk to,” Shuichi paused, his eyes darted away from the intense stare of his friend, “and… really cute.”

Shuichi looked like he was about to burst he was so red, and the hot water wasn’t helping in this case. Rantaro looked at him, his eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. His silence was killing Shuichi, but he didn’t want to add anything else until Rantaro had a chance to reply.

“Shuichi…” he began after what felt like forever, “do you like me?” he had his hand balled into a fist resting at his mouth in a poor attempt to hide the huge grin he had. Seeing him like that helped Shuichi calm down a little bit. He gave an awkward laugh.

“I wasn’t sure, but I’ve been thinking about it all day,” Shuichi said, “I think I do.” Rantaro tilted his head. He was tracing back the events of the day and he got a concerned look on his face.

“I’m sorry if I brought this on somehow,” he apologized, “I’ve been told I can be flirty without realizing it.”

“What? No, I didn’t think that’s what you were doing,” Shuichi assured.

“But… if you really do feel that way,” he started, scooting closer to the dark haired boy, “there’s only one way to know for sure.” Rantaro was gazing at him with eyes half lidded. Shuichi swallowed nervously again, he could feel his heart beating fast in his chest.

“Th-there is?” he couldn’t muster any more of a reply as Rantaro was so close to him now. His bright hazel eyes gleaming at him had him too captivated to speak. The taller boy reached out his hand and grazed the back of Shuichi’s head.

“Can I kiss you?” he asked in a sweet voice. Shuichi felt like his heart stopped beating for a second. He couldn’t form words anymore but he gave him an eager nod. Rantaro’s hand held his head still and he brought their lips together. Shuichi was stiff before their lips touched, but as Rantaro kissed him he felt his body slowly start to relax. He reached out and cupped the back of Rantaro’s neck as he calmed down.

Rantaro felt a fluttering in his chest as he kissed the young detective. Shuichi’s lips were so soft and he was adorably timid about the situation, but Rantaro felt assured in his actions when he felt the boy’s hand caress his neck. He held the kiss a moment longer before slowly pulling away. Shuichi’s eyes fluttered open as he felt Rantaro break their contact.

Shuichi’s dark eyes were staring at his, dazed but longing. Rantaro took a breath as he waited for Shuichi to make the next move.

“Wow,” he finally said, his voice breathy. His eyes found Rantaro’s who was giving him a soft gaze.

“What do you think?” he asked.

“Can we… do that again?” he asked, giving the other teen a bashful smile. Rantaro beamed and kissed Shuichi again excitedly. He couldn’t help but smile as they exchanged brief kisses. He was caught off guard by Shuichi who boldly extended his tongue into Rantaro’s open mouth, deepening their kiss. Rantaro could feel his cheeks warming up as the young detective’s tongue scoured the inside of his mouth, and as he pulled away he softly bit down on the taller boy’s lower lip until it snapped back. Rantaro made a noise as he did that, telling Shuichi that he liked it.

They had been in the water for a while now. Both of them had gotten prune-y fingers from soaking for too long.

“Do you want to continue this in my room?” Rantaro asked as he looked down at his temporarily wrinkled skin.

“Yeah, we should probably get out,” Shuichi chuckled. Rantaro got out first, giving Shuichi ample time to stare at his ass before he unfolded his towel and started drying off. He got out shortly after and took the other towel and dried off his feet and calves before wrapping the towel around his waist. Rantaro grabbed his black case and with his towel draped over his shoulders, he reached down and took Shuichi’s hand as they made their way back inside.


	6. Chapter 6

The adventurous teen held tightly to Shuichi’s hand as they came back upstairs. He walked with the shorter boy over to his bed where he pulled the towel off and dropped it onto the floor. He sat down on the bed, guiding Shuichi in front of him. The dark haired boy dropped his towel and straddled Rantaro’s thighs. He kissed him eagerly, feeling the taller boy’s hands wrap around his neck. Rantaro slowly leaned back until he was laying against his bed with Shuichi hovering on top of him.

They locked lips tightly as they fell back, careful not to let go. As Rantaro’s head hit the bed, Shuichi let go. He was only a short distance away, but the light brown haired teen could see the lightly brushed pink of his cheeks. He was so cute, he thought to himself.

In order to ease Shuichi, he pulled him closer and reached to plant his lips against the soft skin of his neck. He still tasted of pool water but the noises it drew out of the other boy caused Rantaro to barely care about the taste. Shuichi let out soft hums as Rantaro’s tongue darted across his neck. He felt weak as the other boy touched him like that, almost like he would collapse. He could feel other parts of his body reacting to Rantaro’s affectionate kissing which only made his noises more desperate.

Rantaro pulled away and with a soft touch, he grazed Shuichi’s cheek as he gazed into his dark eyes.

“You can… touch me too you know,” Rantaro said with a kind smile. Shuichi’s face reddened even more, but he did as Rantaro hinted at and raised one hand and laid it on Rantaro’s bare chest. He was still a little wet from the hot tub. Shuichi ran his hand down across his slickened skin, feeling the muscles underneath his soft flesh. His hands ran across him, travelling low enough to get to his sides above his hips. Rantaro flinched a little as Shuichi grazed him lightly.

Rantaro brought their lips together again, riled up by Shuichi’s timid touches. He ran his hand up the back of Shuichi’s head, letting his soft black hair comb through his fingers. Rantaro pulled Shuichi into a deep kiss and held him there, earning a pleasured moan from the smaller teen. Hearing his noises, Rantaro made a brash move and moved his arms down and tightened his grip as he rolled with Shuichi so he was laying on top now. The look on his face was priceless and Rantaro gained his bearing in this new position.

Rantaro let his fingers run down the boy’s bare chest as Shuichi squirmed underneath him. The taller boy didn’t leave his lips hanging for long, leaning down soon after they adjusted and Shuichi eagerly kissed him. Perhaps to hide his embarrassment. He now reached up his hand to brush through Rantaro’s hair. He traced his fingers down the right side of Rantaro’s head, brushing past the multiple piercings on his right ear.

The taller boy drew their lips away as he shot the dark haired boy a happy grin. He lowered himself as he planted a kiss on the boy’s collarbone. Shuichi hummed happily for him and Rantaro kept planting kisses down his chest. Shuichi was getting more flustered as the other boy dropped lower and lower. Rantaro was kissing his hipbones and while he was liking the way it felt, he was getting a little overwhelmed.

“Rantaro?” he piped up. The light brown haired boy shot his head up.

“What?” he asked, sounding concerned.

“Um… I don’t really want to go that far tonight,” he said, looking a mixture of embarrassed and anxious.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” Rantaro got up immediately and sat on the edge of the bed, “I was caught up in the moment,” Shuichi sat up, placing a consoling hand on Rantaro’s shoulder.

“It’s okay, I’m having a good time,” he said smiling up at the other teen. Rantaro craned his neck to see him and wrapped his arm around the shoulder of the dark haired boy.

“I’m happy to hear that,” he started, “I am too.” He looked around the room for a moment and then down at his lap, remembering they were still in wet clothes from the hot tub.

“Do you have clothes to sleep in?” he asked. Shuichi nodded, “You should get changed then. There’s a laundry hamper in the bathroom to toss those in.” Shuichi got up, thanking him and went to the small bag he brought over from his place. He took out a t-shirt and pair of shorts and walked to the bathroom down the hall. While he was in there, Rantaro decided to turn on some music. He had a stereo system sitting atop his dresser that he turned on, watching the lights on the screen do their animated opening.

He took his phone and found a playlist of pretty calming music and plugged it in. The soft song came on loudly, but pleasantly. With that, he returned to his closet and found some appropriate pajamas. He grabbed one of his newer baggy T-shirts which was dark with a band logo on it, and a pair of black and red plaid boxer shorts. He didn’t really own any pajama pants, so he figured this would be okay. He changed quickly in his closet before Shuichi came back into the room.

As he came out of the closet, he saw Shuichi come back in from the door. He smiled as he heard the music playing and went to the pit in the room to sit down. Rantaro went to grab the towels lying next to the bed and took them and his swimsuit to the laundry basket in the bathroom and came back quickly. He joined Shuichi in the pit and the smaller boy leaned into him, resting his head on Rantaro’s chest.

Rantaro smiled as he put his arm around the detective. He leaned his head back, tuning into the music filling the room. Rantaro couldn’t help it after a while and started singing. Shuichi perked up as he heard Rantaro’s lovely singing voice again and he leaned in to listen. The taller teen smiled as he had Shuichi’s interest and started singing louder. The dark haired boy could be smitten by Rantaro’s voice alone. He normally had a pretty deep voice, but he could be much higher pitched when he was signing. His voice was so smooth, effortlessly gliding along to the different notes of the song. Shuichi closed his eyes and listened until that particular song was over.

He looked back at the light brown haired teen and smiled, “I love the sound of your voice.” His words earned a blush across the boy’s cheeks.

“Thank you,” he laughed nervously but squeezed his grip on the dark haired boy as a reassurance. Shuichi’s eyes went around the room, examining the details again. He wondered where Rantaro had gotten all the stuff adorning the walls. He probably had a ton of great stories from his travels. Shuichi thought about asking him but then his eyes landed on another of Rantaro’s belongings. That little black case he brought to the hot tub with him was sitting on the bedside table. An overwhelming curiosity came over him.

“Hey Rantaro?” he asked, sounding more bashful all of a sudden.

“Yeah?” the other replied.

“Can I…. um…” Shuichi was going to ask, but he felt himself chickening out, “uh… never mind.” He turned his head away, hoping Rantaro would just let it go.

“What is it?” He pushed, “you can ask me,” Shuichi thought about it again.

“I’m just… curious,” he began again, “may I try… um,” he still couldn’t get the words out.

“Try what?” Rantaro asked, looking around to see if he could find what Shuichi was talking about. Shuichi had his eyes laid on the black bag, hoping now that Rantaro would see him looking at it. Rantaro traced his line of sight to beside the bed and then he got a surprised look on his face.

“Are you talking about my weed?” he asked, looking back at the dark haired boy.

“I…uh… yeah,” he finally admitted. He’d been curious since Rantaro took it out in the back of his truck, but he definitely didn’t want to try it in public. He would rather try something like that where he was safely indoors with a trusted person.

“You don’t have to be embarrassed asking me,” he said grinning widely. Shuichi really was adorable, “You can try it if you’d like.” He got up and snatched the bag from the table, motioning to the door leading outside.

“We can’t do it indoors, so we have to use the deck,” he said. Shuichi stood up and followed Rantaro outside to the narrow deck. By now it was dark, and the ocean could barely been seen besides the small reflections of light on the rippling but calm waves. The deck had a small light right above the door, but it wasn’t too bright.

It was a little chilly out now, especially considering they were not wearing much to cover up. Shuichi crossed his arms across his chest, hoping that would help him feel warmer. Rantaro opened up his case and put a new bowl into the pipe. He handed the glass to Shuichi along with his lighter and showed him how to use it. Shuichi went for it, lighting the bud with the lighter and breathing in. The smoke was a lot stronger than he anticipated and he ended up coughing, his throat burning a bit.

“Sorry, it can be a bit intense at first,” Rantaro chuckled. He took the glass piece from Shuichi before he dropped it and Shuichi tried to gain his composure.

“It kind of hurts,” he sputtered between coughing.

“Sometimes,” he agreed, “Let me get you some water.” He went back inside and returned an a few minutes with a glass of water for the dark haired boy. Shuichi downed it quickly and at least managed to stop coughing. Rantaro took a hit for himself and handed it back to Shuichi.

“You want to try again?” he asked. Shuichi nodded and took it back. He attempted it a second time, trying not to inhale it so quickly. He still felt the burning in his throat but not as badly. He didn’t cough this time either. Rantaro said that it works the best the longer you can hold it in before blowing it out. He was able to hold it for a few seconds and then blew out the smoke. He wasn’t really feeling any effects yet, but he was certain he would soon.

Shuichi gave it back to Rantaro and watched as he took another hit as well. As he watched, he felt kind of amazed by the actions of the other boy. Was that the drug working? Or his own thoughts? Maybe both? He leaned against the railing and watched the gentle waves of the ocean. Rantaro walked over next to him and placed his arm around him, pulling him close.

“How are you feeling?” he asked. Shuichi took a moment to assess his state. His was still thinking clearly but he felt kind of lifted. His eyesight seemed a bit different than usual, maybe foggier but not to a large extent. Just a little.

“I’m good, I guess I was just expecting more of a difference,” Shuichi admitted.

“Like I said before, I don’t use very strong weed. I hate being super baked,” he laughed, “I’ve only gotten to that point once and I’ll never do it again.”

“What’s that like?” he wondered.

“It depends on the person, but when I have too much I get paranoid,” he explained.

“Paranoid?” Shuichi sounded surprised.

“Yeah. There’s a fine line with me where I can feel calm or completely erratic. I went a whole night without sleep the time I got too high because every noise just freaked me out. It was awful,” he explained.

“That sounds horrible,” Shuichi nervously laughed with him. Rantaro leaned his neck down and placed a kiss on Shuichi’s cheek.

“It was,” he laughed, “you wanna go back inside. You seem cold.” Shuichi nodded and Rantaro packed his stuff back into that bag and they walked inside. Shuichi laid back in the pit and Rantaro put that bag away in a safe spot. He again joined Shuichi in the pile of pillows and contemplated what else they could do until they turned in for the night.

Shuichi had gotten up and through his slight daze, he opened up the ottoman and started looking around. Rantaro chuckled as he watched the boy snoop. He was apparently less inhibited when he was high and had to act on his impulse to inspect. He found something inside that made his eyes go wide.

“You have games in here too?” he asked excitedly.

“Yup,” Rantaro answered, “wanna play one with me?”

“Yes! My mom won’t let me have video games. She says they’re too violent,” he said with a chuckle.

“That’s ironic…” Rantaro thought, “Considering the kind of work she is okay with you doing.”

“Isn’t it?” he laughed, “At least in games the violence is fake.”

“If you want to pick one, I’m going to go get some snacks,” Rantaro insisted. Shuichi nodded in agreement and looked at the different titles, trying to decide on one. Rantaro went down the hall and down the stairs to the kitchen where he opened and walked inside of the pantry. There were quite a few options for snacks that he had, and he failed to ask Shuichi if there was anything he particularly liked so he grabbed a few bags of chips and headed right back upstairs. 

Shuichi had a game case in his hand and was trying to figure out what to do with the game station. Rantaro came back to help him figure it out since he had never used the thing before. He handed the snacks to Shuichi who immediately popped one open and dug in. The taller boy smirked as he watched him munch happily for a couple of seconds.

For the rest of the night, the two of them had fun blasting zombies together and munching on chips. Shuichi wasn’t all that good, but he didn’t mind. It was to be expected for somebody who’d never touched a game before. He took the time to show Shuichi how the controls worked and soon he was getting the hang of it. After a while had passed, Rantaro noticed that Shuichi’s character kept standing still for a quite a few seconds until something came up and killed him. He looked over at the boy who was darting in and out of consciousness. They had been playing for an hour or so and it was getting pretty late.

Rantaro turned the game off and gestured for Shuichi to get up.

“I was going to have you sleep down here, but why don’t you join me in my bed instead?” he asked. Shuichi smiled and nodded sleepily. Both of them went to the bathroom to brush their teeth and returned to Rantaro’s bed. Despite the size of the bedroom, Rantaro didn’t have an oversized bed. They could both sleep comfortably on it but they would have to be close. Not that either of them cared.

Rantaro pulled the covers back and adjusted the pillows so both of them had enough to lay on. He motioned for Shuichi to get in first, and he did so followed by the light brown haired teen who pulled the covers over them both. He had already turned off the lights so now they were laying there in the darkness. Shuichi was already pretty exhausted and was ready to fall asleep immediately. But he lovingly cuddled up next to the taller boy, enjoying his warmth as he slowly drifted off to sleep. Rantaro held him close, feeling the slowing of his breath as he slept. It was hypnotizing enough to soon lull Rantaro to fall asleep as well.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shuichi returns to school and finds some surprising information about Rantaro

With the shades drawn, it was hard to tell when morning came. Rantaro was the first to awaken, rubbing his eyes sleepily as he let out a yawn. His moving around jostled the other boy awake as well. Shuichi blinked his eyes open slowly as they adjusted to the sights in the room. They made eye contact after they were more awake, exchanging wide smiles.

“Good morning Shuichi,” Rantaro spoke first, stroking the dark haired boy’s cheek. Shuichi nuzzled Rantaro’s hand as he touched him gently. He was still a bit dazed from the night before. He hadn’t had such a deep sleep in so long.

“Good morning,” he replied.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Very,” Shuichi laughed. Rantaro leaned close and gave him a soft kiss.

“I had a lot of fun with you last night,” he chided.

“I did too,” Shuichi agreed.

They both got out of the bed, Rantaro first since he was on the outside followed by Shuichi. The taller boy lazily flipped the blanket back over just so it was sort of made and he told Shuichi he would make them breakfast and headed downstairs. Shuichi followed him, grasping for his hand as he left.

They chatted in the kitchen, just like last night while Rantaro cooked. He did something much simpler for breakfast, two bowls of oyakodon. Shuichi was happy to eat something familiar, but the way Rantaro made it was better than he remembered.

“Where did you learn to cook like this?” Shuichi asked, genuinely pretty curious. Most kids their age didn’t have to prepare meals for themselves, let alone become gourmets.

“I learned a lot from the people I met in my travels. My parents were always busy doing business, so I was left to my own devices. And neither of them could cook, so I thought I should learn,” Rantaro explained.

“I can’t believe your life sometimes,” Shuichi said, giving a chuckle.

“It’s not all it’s cracked up to be, but it’s been interesting so far,” he laughed. They both sat in relative silence as they finished eating. It was nice to just enjoy each other’s company, no need for conversation. Shuichi kept looking at the light brown haired teen with eager eyes, like he wanted to ask him something but the quiet ambiance was preventing him from doing so.

“You okay Shuichi?” Rantaro asked, seeing that his friend was giving him a distant stare. Shuichi shook his head back to reality, and now his cheeks were turning a light shade of pink.

“So, after last night…” Shuichi began, “does that mean we’re… boyfriends now?” he said the last part a little quieter than the rest, as if there were people around that he didn’t want to hear. Rantaro gave him a grin, admiring his shyness.

“If that’s what you want,” he said.

“But… is that what you want?” Shuichi needed reassurance.

“Yes,” the taller teen clarified, “very much so.”

Shuichi placed his hand over Rantaro’s as it rested on the table. Rantaro gave him a dreamy look. His hazel eyes glinting in the bright morning light. Shuichi was completely smitten by the other boy. Not only was he attractive, but he was one of the most caring people he had come to meet since attending Hope’s Peak. Despite his misgivings about the school, he was happy for this relationship that came out of it.

The rest of the day consisted of them trying to relax until Rantaro would drive Shuichi back home. The young detective didn’t want to say goodbye yet, but Rantaro got the news that his parents would be arriving back home that evening and the taller boy wasn’t ready to have Shuichi meet his parents yet. Or rather, he didn’t want Shuichi to have to deal with them yet. The dark haired boy had to go back upstairs to gather the few things he brought and right as it started to get dark outside, the two of them got back into Rantaro’s truck so he could drive him home.

“We’ll have to get together again like this before I come back to school,” Rantaro suggested, his eyes darting between the road and the boy in his passenger seat. Shuichi was leaning against his palm with his arm propped against the arm rest of the door.

“Maybe,” he began thoughtfully, “you can stay at my house next weekend? I know it’s nothing fancy, but…”

“I would love to,” Rantaro said happily.

“My mom will be there, but I think she’d like you,” he added.

“You think so? Are you going to tell her about us?” Rantaro wondered.

“I’m not sure yet. But I’ll let you know if I do. To be honest, I think she’d be happy for us. I’m not sure how my dad will take it though,” he admitted.

“Is your dad…” Rantaro was trying to find a sensitive way to ask his question, but the right words wouldn’t come.

“He’s more traditional, so I think he might feel uncomfortable with it,” Shuichi sighed, “so if mom knows, she might tell him.”

“I’ll leave it to your own discretion then. Don’t feel like you need to make a spectacle of it,” Rantaro suggested. 

“Thanks,” Shuichi gave a soft smile.

It didn’t take long to get back to Shuichi’s house. The boy lingered in the truck longer than he usually did, not wanting to say goodbye just yet.

“Will I still see you in the morning?” Shuichi asked hopefully.

“Of course, I wouldn’t leave you hanging,” Rantaro assured, “especially if that’s all I get to see of you for the next week.”

“Good. Well, I guess that mean’s this is goodbye for now,” Shuichi said.

“Goodbye for now, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Rantaro replied. He leaned to the side, reaching close to Shuichi who eagerly closed the gap between them and planted a kiss on the other boy’s lips. As he pulled away, Shuichi gave him a sad smile. He wanted to stay with him, but knew it was getting late. His mom wouldn’t want him out much longer.

He opened the door and slid out of the truck, backpack in hand. He walked to his front door, giving Rantaro one last glance as he waved goodbye. Shuichi wave back before pulling out his keys and entered his house.

His mom was waiting for him on her chair watching TV. When she heard the door open, she turned around and smiled.

“Hey sweetie, how was your weekend?” She asked.

“Really nice,” Shuichi said, “I’m beat though, so I think I’m just going to hang out in my room for the night.”

“That’s fine, I’m glad you had fun,” she said, shooting him a smile before she turned back to the TV.

The dark haired boy wandered back into his room and collapsed onto his bed with a dumb smile plastered on his face. He was going over the events of the last few days in his head. A lot happened and he felt over the moon about it. He wanted to text Rantaro so they could keep talking but didn’t want to seem overbearing. So he resisted and instead watched videos on his laptop until he wanted to pass out from exhaustion.

~

In the morning it was business as usual. Shuichi woke up and got ready for school, his mom made him breakfast and Rantaro pulled up in front of his house right on cue. He practically ran out the door, eager to see Rantaro again.

“Good morning Shuichi,” the light brown haired teen greeted as the other opened the car door.

“Good morning,” he replied, that same huge grin across his face.

“You seem to be in good spirits,” Rantaro chuckled at him.

“You could say that.”

The drive to school was nice. Rantaro had music playing this time and sang to it the whole drive over. Shuichi just listened quietly, enjoying his boyfriend’s sweet voice.

When they got to the school, Shuichi gave Rantaro a deep kiss good bye and left before any of the teachers could flag down his truck again.

The rest of the week Shuichi was in a good mood, noticeable to his friends and teachers who all seemed to be happy for him. Though Shuichi didn’t want to tell anyone why until Rantaro came back to school. He also felt like a huge weight was lifted off of his shoulders without the extra catch up work he was slaving away at last week.

Things were going along normally, until that Friday. One of the faculty members was apparently watching the two of them in Rantaro’s car when he dropped him off. As soon as Rantaro drove away, he flagged down Shuichi and asked him to come to his office.

Shuichi was confused and a little upset that this teacher was watching them and he clutched his fists tight as he sat down waiting for the teacher to start talking.

“Saihara, I’ve noticed you spending a lot of time with Mr. Amami, despite the fact that he’s been suspended from school grounds.” The man began.

“And?” Shuichi questioned.

“And… I want to ask you if you know why he’s been suspended?” the teacher asked, getting low to Shuichi’s face.

“Yes, I do,” he answered, “I don’t see any reason to deny him friends for that.”

“I just worry that he’ll hold you back Saihara, you’re a gifted student and he…” he stopped, in an attempt to find the right words.

“He’s what?” Shuichi asked defensively.

“He’s got a lot on his plate when he comes back you know,” the teacher began, walking to his desk to thumb through some papers. Shuichi looked at what he was eyeing but couldn’t get a close enough look.

“What are you getting at?” Shuichi wondered.

“I’m just saying that you two may both be better off if you focus on your studies and don’t get too involved with him. He’s trouble.”

Shuichi gave him a raised brow, “I beg to differ.”

“I only wanted to warn you, now go to class,” he gave his last word and walked out of his office. Leaving Shuichi alone in there. While nobody was around, Shuichi got up and checked what he was looking at on his desk. There was a whole file on Rantaro with a corrected curriculum. The work load listed for the rest of their time at school was unbelievable, nearly four times what the rest of the students would have to do. He flipped through the file more and found a page with all of Rantaro’s transgressions listed. 

Shuichi raised his hand to his mouth as he read what was listed. Of course he knew the weed and class ditching was part of it. Then there was a brief stint of vandalism and underage drinking. But what he didn’t expect was a formal complaint written by Rantaro’s own father about the reckless endangerment of all twelve of Rantaro’s younger sisters. He didn’t have time to read the whole statement, but it was clear that his father was accusing Rantaro of luring his sisters into dangerous areas to try and lose them. Something else was written about attitude issues at home. Shuichi almost started crying as he skimmed the statement. Suddenly, he heard footsteps outside the office and threw the report down and booked it out of there.

Back in the classroom, he could hardly focus. The thoughts of that file were swimming in his head. He wondered if Rantaro knew. He must have, since he was being punished for all of this.

At the end of the day, Shuichi met Rantaro in his car as usual but his happy demeanor was clearly gone. Rantaro noticed and asked what was wrong.

“Just… let’s get away from the school first. I have something to tell you,”

“Uh, okay,” Rantaro agreed and drove off.

Shuichi asked if he could pull over somewhere. He didn’t want to wait until they got back to his house. Rantaro did so on a relatively quiet road so nobody should be around. After the car was parked, he turned to Shuichi looking concerned.

“They talked to me today, about you,” Shuichi began.

“About me? What did they say?” Rantaro sounded surprised.

“He told me not to hang out with you anymore,” Shuichi answered honestly.

“Figures,” Rantaro sighed, “They really have it out for me don’t they?”

“That wasn’t the only thing,” Shuichi added, shifting uncomfortably in his seat, “I saw they were making you a new curriculum. It was insane,”

“You saw it?” Rantaro asked nervously.

“Yeah, it was probably quadruple the normal amount of work just to graduate,” Shuichi explained, “did you know about it?”

“I knew they were making it, but I didn’t know how bad it would be,” Rantaro admitted. He seemed stressed now and Shuichi more than understood. It was unfair of the school to do that to him, but that wasn’t the thing that had him the most worried.

“And… I saw a complaint from your father in your file,” Shuichi mentioned hesitantly, “did you know he made one?”

“I never got to read it. All I know is that after that, I was treated like a prisoner instead of a student. That’s what lead to all the skipping classes and… well, everything else,” Rantaro explained, “Did you read it?”

“Rantaro… it was horrible,” Shuichi said, turning to finally face the other boy. His eyes glossy as he tried to hold back tears.

“Hey, hey,” Rantaro saw his distraught look and placed his hand on the other’s shoulder, “no need to be so upset.”

“Yes! There is! He wrote the school to tell them you purposefully lost your sisters. That has to be why they’re treating you so badly,” Shuichi cried. Rantaro didn’t have a reply as he tried to process what he just heard.

“Bastard…” he cursed, “that’s not fair.”

“I… I can’t let this slide, I want to help you clear this up,” Shuichi said.

“God knows I’ve tried. But maybe they’ll listen to somebody else….” Rantaro pondered. He looked at Shuichi, a clearly forced smile cracking his lips but he was trying to assure the other boy that he would be okay.

“Rantaro…” Shuichi didn’t know what else to say.

“I’ll feel good having detective Shuichi on my case,” Rantaro said with a soft chuckle. Shuichi couldn’t smile back, but rather grasped his hand tightly.

“I’ll do whatever I can!” he promised.

“You’re too kind love,” Rantaro chided. Shuichi left his chest grow fluttery as Rantaro gave him a long, tender kiss.

“Now let’s get you home,” Rantaro changed the subject.

“But…” Shuichi tried to argue.

“There’s nothing we can do about this now. When I get back to school we can work on clearing my name, until then try to relax,” he said as he started the car again.

“Okay,” Shuichi reluctantly agreed.

They drove silently back to Shuichi’s house, though the dark haired boy refused to let go of Rantaro’s right hand. When they got to his house, Shuichi didn’t want to leave. It took a few urgings from the other to finally get him to go inside.

“It’ll be okay Shuichi,” Rantaro assured him.

“I hope you’re right,” he began, “Are you okay going home tonight?”

“I’ll be fine,” Rantaro claimed.

“If you say so,” Shuichi finally found the door latch and popped it open, “text me if you need anything though.”

Rantaro smiled softly at him, “I will, now go home.”

Shuichi gave him one last kiss before leaving the truck and going back to his door. Rantaro waited to leave until Shuichi had gone inside. Now that the other boy was gone, Rantaro took a deep breath. He was pretty shaken by what he heard, though he didn’t want to worry Shuichi about his father’s endeavors. He drove off, at first in the direction of his house but then stopped. He wasn’t sure if he could deal with seeing his parents that night.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rantaro goes to Shuichi's house for the weekend

‘Hey love, I hope you were able to relax last night. Are you still up for having me over?’

Shuichi awoke to a text from Rantaro. He smiled and texted him back immediately.

‘Of course! What time will you be ready?’

Shuichi put the phone down and went to get ready for the day. When he returned, Rantaro had already texted him back.

‘Early if that’s okay.’

‘Let me check with my mom, but I’m sure that will be fine.’

Shuichi went down the hall to find his mom cooking them breakfast.

“Hey mom,” Shuichi began.

“Good morning sweetie. I hope you’re hungry,” she said. It looked like she was preparing a big breakfast.

“Yeah,” he began, “Rantaro is coming over today, is it okay if he comes over pretty early?”

“Sure, will he be here for breakfast?” She asked.

“I’m not sure.”

“Then maybe we’ll save some for him just in case,” she said with a smile.

“Thanks mom,” he said, running back to his room really quick to text him back.

‘Mom’s okay with that. Just come over whenever.’

‘Thanks Shuichi. I’ll see you soon.’

Shuichi went to join his mom for breakfast and then hung out in the living room until they heard a knock at the door. Shuichi leapt to his feet and opened the door to find the light brown haired boy standing there smiling.

“Hey, come in,” Shuichi invited. Rantaro stepped inside. It was weird to see the inside of the house after driving by it so many times.

“Mom, this is Rantaro,” He introduced. His mom had gotten off of her chair and came to greet him. He could tell she was Shuichi’s mom. She was a bit shorter than the dark haired boy with the same eyes. She smile at his sweetly before bowing.

“I’ve heard much about you,” she said. He bowed back respectfully.

“It’s nice to finally meet you Mrs. Saihara,” he said.

“If you’re hungry, we saved some breakfast for you,” she offered, gesturing to the kitchen.

“I might have to take you up on that,” he said smoothly. She chuckled and Shuichi brought Rantaro to the kitchen where he handed him a plate of food. Rantaro and Shuichi sat down at the table and Rantaro quickly ate what was there.

“Did you not eat this morning?” Shuichi asked, seeing how quickly the other boy scarfed down the food.

“No, thank you for this,” he said between bites.

“I was mom’s idea, you can thank her,” Shuichi admitted.

“I will,” he paused to take a drink of water that Shuichi had brought him as well, “also, can I use your shower today?”

“Um… sure,” Shuichi agreed, sounding skeptical.

“I… uh… didn’t go home last night,” he said quietly.

“What?” Shuichi sounded surprised.

“Yeah.”

“Did you sleep in your car last night?” Shuichi asked, keeping his voice low so his mom wouldn’t over hear them.

“I did,” he admitted, “to be perfectly honest, that’s the real reason I keep blankets and pillows in my truck. It’s a lot cheaper than getting hotels every time I want to get away from them.”

Shuichi was dumbfounded. He tried to keep his composure but he felt so bad that Rantaro slept outside last night and he didn’t even offer to have him stay with him.

“I’m sorry,” he began, but Rantaro stopped him.

“Don’t be sorry. I didn’t tell you anything, so you couldn’t have known,” he insisted.

“I know, but, I feel bad,” Shuichi said.

“Don’t feel bad. Everything’s okay, I just didn’t feel like getting into any fights last night,” Rantaro said, “Trust me, I’m fine.”

“If you say so,” Shuichi was sounding less convinced every time he said that phrase to the other boy.

Shuichi guided him to where the bathroom was and gave Rantaro a towel and told him to come back to his room when he was done. Rantaro smiled and thanked him and locked himself inside while he bathed. Shuichi went to his room which was the next room over and laid on his bed. He didn’t wait for long. Rantaro made it quick so Shuichi’s mom wouldn’t question why he was using their shower.

Rantaro luckily kept clean clothes in his car as well, just in case this stuff ever happened. He changed into those and put the dirty ones in his bag. He went to the room Shuichi pointed him to and found the boy laying back on his bed staring at the ceiling.

“Thank you, I feel better now,” he made his presence known. Shuichi sat up and gave him a halfhearted smile.

“You’re welcome,” he said, “will you come sit with me?” Rantaro obliged and sat down next to the dark clad boy. As soon as he sat down, Shuichi wrapped his arms around his waist and held him tightly. Rantaro put his arm around the shorter boy, rubbing his back gently.

"You're awfully clingy today," Rantaro joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"I just... wish I could do something to help you," he wished, his dark eyes gazing up at the other boy sadly.

"Being here with me is helpful enough," he said calmly. Shuichi felt his heart twist in a mixture of happiness and sorrow. Rantaro was always so calm and collected, but was he really that way or just pushing the hard feelings aside?

Feeling like he should just drop it for the day, Shuichi changed the subject.

"I know it's not as cool as your house, but thanks for coming over," he said.

"Don't be ridiculous, I like it. It's cozy," he complimented, "your mom seems nice."

"You should see her angry, “Shuichi joked, "but yeah, she's good to me. If she gets mad, you know you did something to deserve it."

"You should be glad she cares for you so much," Rantaro's words were distant, like his mind had traveled elsewhere. Shuichi looked back at him, trying to gain his attention.

"You okay?" He asked. Rantaro have his head a quick shake.

"Sorry, spaced out for a second, I'm fine," he insisted. Shuichi let it slide and instead offered to play them something to watch on his laptop.

"This is all I have to watch stuff on, I hope that's okay," he said.

"I guess we'll have to sit closer together to see the screen better," Rantaro said, turning back on his usual charm. Shuichi blushed and nodded in agreement. The dark haired boy sat up so he could reach for his computer where it rested on his desk. With the device in his hands, he scooted back against the wall and pulled some pillows over for the two of them to lay against. Rantaro rested his arm around Shuichi, pulling him close.

Shuichi started a playlist of videos and they let them play, more so enjoying the others embrace.

The lure of the videos didn't last long, and shortly after they started Rantaro had leaned his head down to place a kiss on Shuichi's cheek.

Next thing they knew, they were making out. Shuichi managed to put the laptop aside before Rantaro rolled on top of him, peppering him with soft kisses until he laid flush on the bed.

The quiet giggling from the other boy brought a smile to Rantaro's lips. Shuichi's fingers twisted around his soft, messy hair.

They spent a long while entangled in each other's grasp, happy just to be together despite all of the unfortunate circumstances surrounding them. Rantaro loved the shy nature of the dark haired boy, the way his cheeks turned pink whenever he touched him. The hesitant moans he made as Rantaro dropped his hands lower. Shuichi drive him crazy. He started to unbutton his shirt slowly, making the other tense as he anticipated Rantaro’s fingers against his soft flesh.

-Knock knock- 

The two of them were getting heated in the moment but the loud sudden knock forced them apart quicker than they thought they could. Rantaro sat up straight, helping pull Shuichi up so they didn’t look like they were just laying on top of each other. Rantaro grabbed the laptop and opened it as Shuichi’s mother opened the door.

“Hey, I just wanted to let you know I’ll be out running errands for a while. Shuichi, if you need anything call me okay?” she said, clearly a change of tone in her voice like she knew she walked in on something.

“Sure, thanks mom,” Shuichi said, trying to disguise how starled he was.

She left without questioning them and now they were left alone. As soon as they heard the front door close, they both let out a huge sigh followed by laughter. 

"Close call," Rantaro said. Shuichi, still with flushed pink cheeks, gave him a sweet smile. They listened for a few moments until they heard the distinct click of the front door closing and quickly resumed where they left off. The taller boy once again on top of the other, showering him in gentle pecks across his cheeks and neck.

Shuichi hummed in delight as he got smothered by the other boy. The feeling of his lips against his bare skin made his nerves tingle excitedly. He lifted his hand to Rantaro's hair, running it through his fingers as it encouraged the other to continue. Rantaro brought their lips together once more and kissed the dark hair boy deeply.

They kept that up for quite some time. Knowing they wouldn't be interrupted for a while helped put their minds at ease. Shuichi was still timid in close proximity of the other boy. His hands would always travel to places he knew we're safe like the nape of the taller boy's neck or grasping at his shoulders.

Shuichi wanted to be bolder, but every time he would open his eyes to see those hazel orbs glimmering so close to him, his limbs would freeze.

"Shuichi..." Rantaro whispered into the dark haired boy's ear gently, "you're tense."

"I'm... Sorry," he instinctively replied.

"Don't be sorry, just relax. You don't need to be so nervous around me," the light brown haired teen leaned back with a sympathetic smile.

"I know... I just," he paused, his big black eyes gazing up at his partner, "I don't want to do anything wrong."

"You won't," he said, "I just want to feel your hands on me."

Shuichi's blush intensified at Rantaro's words. The young detective swallowed the lump in his throat and raised his hands, pressing his palms against Rantaro's chest. Rantaro grinned as Shuichi slowly started moving around. One hand traced a path to Rantaro's lower back, nesting in the curvature. Shuichi wanted to lower his hand, but the thought only made him freeze again. Maybe not tonight.

Rantaro happily kissed him again as he took Shuichi's other hand in his and guided it up his shirt. With the boy's hand against the bare flesh, Shuichi felt his anxieties flare up again. But Rantaro had him tight in his grasp, and Shuichi let him take the lead.

He could feel the pads of his fingers brush against the soft skin. Rantaro bit his lip as he placed Shuichi's fingers over his raised nipples. The dark haired boy held his breath as his partner played with the small buds with his own hand. Rantaro could see the eagerness being held back in Shuichi's eyes, but his inability to act on his urges just made him chuckle.

"You're adorable," he said, letting go of Shuichi's hand. The dark haired boy was always uncomfortable receiving compliments.

"Uh... Thanks?" He replied with a questioning undertone.

"Why don't we come back to this later?" The taller boy suggested. Shuichi looked disappointed, but agreed with a silent head nod. Rantaro climbed off of him and took his hand to pull him back up. He looked around the room, wondering what else they could do. Shuichi took a glance out the window, giving him an idea.

"Do you want to go on a walk with me?" Shuichi asked. Rantaro took a look outside, it looked like it was going to be a good day to go outside.

"Yeah, let's go," he smiled. They got up off of the bed and went to the front door to get their shoes on. Shuichi made sure to grab his keys and locked the door behind them as they left. Rantaro waited for him to take his hand as they made their way away from Shuichi's house.

It was silent at first as they enjoyed being in each other's company in the quiet of the mid-morning. Shuichi's neighborhood was packed tight with homes, but there was a nice ambiance to it. Rantaro had driven through it many times, but he hadn't really stopped to admire the scenery before.

"I take it you didn't tell your mom about us," Rantaro spoke up first.

"I decided not to," Shuichi admitted, "it's not like I'm ashamed or anything, I just don't think my dad or uncle will take the news very well."

"I understand, it’s okay,” Rantaro assured, “what about school though?’

“I haven’t told anybody yet, but I can’t imagine I can be at school with you and somebody won’t find out,” Shuichi smiled.

“Right,” the taller boy laughed.

“Are you nervous about going back to school?” Shuichi wondered.

“Not nervous, but I’m not looking forward to my latest sentencing,” he tried to joke, but the tone of his voice expressed otherwise.

“It’s not fair,” Shuichi began, “they shouldn’t be able to do that to you.”

“I know it’s bad, but I’ll find a way to handle it,” Rantaro tried to assure him.

“I’m going to find a way to fix it,” the dark haired boy stopped walking for a second, “I might not be able to do much, but I want to help you fix this.”

Rantaro came around to stand in front of the shorter boy, drawing him into a tight embrace, “I know you will.”

Rantaro rested his head against Shuichi’s shoulder as he held him. Shuichi’s face reddened but he liked having the other boy so close. When Rantaro finally pulled away, Shuichi gave him a sweet smile.

“I promise, it’ll get better,” Shuichi said.

“As long as you’re around, I know it will.”

~

Back at Shuichi’s house, it appeared that Shuichi’s mother was still gone.

“I guess we still get some alone time after all,” Rantaro said as they both went back into Shuichi’s room.

“Mom’s usually gone for a while when she runs errands. She doesn’t drive, so it takes a lot longer,” Shuichi explained.

“Do you want to resume where we left off?” Rantaro shot him a playful look. Shuichi grinned, and next thing he knew Rantaro was all over him


	9. Chapter 9

The boy’s weekend was spent relaxing in each other’s company. Despite the underlying stress from Rantaro’s return to school, they were able to put those thoughts aside. Sunday night, Rantaro finally returned home thankfully to a quiet house. His parent’s must’ve already been asleep, or at least in a room far enough away to not hear him come in.

He was able to change his clothes and shower in his own bathroom and go to bed without any arguments, so that in itself was a victory. He might not have such good luck in the morning, but at least for now he could get some sleep.

~

Shuichi waited for Rantaro in the morning like he did every day, but now he would be able to actually spend time with him at school. It seemed like it was so long ago that they were in school together, but it really wasn’t.

Just as expected, Rantaro pulled up in front of his house and Shuichi was one his way out the door. In Rantaro’s car, this time he had his backpack sitting on the floor close to him, but careful not to leave it in Shuichi’s foot room.

“Hey, how did it go back at home?” Shuichi was dying to know what happened.

“It was strangely fine,” Rantaro smiled, “I didn’t even see either of them last night, and this morning my dad was on the couch while I was making breakfast and we talked a little, but he didn’t accuse me of anything.”

“That… is strange,” Shuichi pondered the event. Was he not even worried about Rantaro vanishing for two days?

“Don’t read too much into it,” the taller boy began as he pulled away from the curb, “I do have some good news though.”

“Oh yeah? What’s that?” Shuichi asked enthusiastically.

“Dad told me that he and mom will be catching a plane tomorrow afternoon so they’ll be gone a few days. I thought maybe you could come over for that boat ride,” Rantaro suggested coyly. Shuichi’s eyes lit up.

“Yes! Absolutely!” he beamed.

“Good, so tomorrow after school you can come home with me,” he planned.

“Perfect,” Shuichi said happily, reaching over to rest his hand on Rantaro’s thigh. The other boy shot him a quick glance when he could. He couldn’t even begin to describe how happy he was to have Shuichi by his side. He was feeling nervous about going back to school, not for any reason other than having to endure the judgmental behavior of some of the higher up faculty. At least the homeroom teacher was always on his side. 

He turned on the street to the school but instead of stopping in the front where he had been dropping off Shuichi, Rantaro kept going to the entrance of the school’s parking lot. He pulled into a spot close to the entrance and put the truck in park. He sat there for a moment and took a deep breath.

“Are you okay?” Shuichi asked. As Rantaro looked over to his passenger, the dark haired boy was giving him a concerned look.

“Yeah,” Rantaro answered. He pulled the keys out of the ignition and grabbed one of the straps of his backpack, “you ready?”

“Yeah,” Shuichi replied as he opened the door and slid out of the car. Rantaro clicked it locked and they walked toward the entrance to the school. Shuichi quickly snatched Rantaro’s hand as they walked. Rantaro could feel his cheeks heating as the other boy’s fingers entwined with his own.

The usually calm and collected Rantaro was feeling the pressure of having eyes on him from all over. The students who heard about his suspension were giving him weird looks as they noticed him walking by. Other eyes came from students who were surprised to see him hand in hand with the young detective. The eyes of the students were bad enough, but seeing the faculty giving him disappointed glares was pushing it too far.

He tried to shake off the looks. It was going to happen all day, so he might as well get used to it. Rantaro was relieved to finally get to their homeroom. Shuichi went in first and Rantaro followed. The class was almost all there already and seeing him come in got them all to stop and look.

“Rantaro’s back!” Kokichi blurted, “How was your sentencing?” The small, purple haired boy was quick to jest but that was quickly followed by a smack on the shoulder by Keebo.

“Kokichi!” he scolded, “Sorry, we’re glad to have you back Rantaro.”

He let out a soft chuckle, “Thanks Keebo.”

Shuichi went to sit in his seat in front of Kaede. Rantaro’s assigned desk was pretty far as he realized but he kept an eye on him from a distance. Rantaro sat in the front corner next to Gonta who was emotional about Rantaro’s return. He wrapped his large arms around Rantaro in a well-meaning embrace.

“Gonta was so worried about you!” he cried, “You we’re gone so long Gonta thought something bad happen!”

“That’s…. very sweet of you… Gonta,” Rantaro choked, “but… can you let go? I ca-an’t breathe.”

Gonta let him go upon request and apologized. Shuichi watched him talk with the others sitting around him, finally able to ease up since they got to the school. As he was watching him, he was too distracted to notice somebody closing in on him from behind.

A hand slammed down on his shoulder, nearly making him yelp in surprise. He whipped his head around to see who it was to find the luminary of the stars grinning at him. 

“Hey Shuichi,” he greeted.

“You can just say hi, no need to sneak up on somebody like that,” Shuichi grumbled.

“Sorry, Maki’s been showing me some tricks,” he laughed.

“He’s fond of making a mockery of my skills for dumb pranks, but I guess it’s better than killing people so I let it slide,” Maki added, shooting Kaito a scary look.

“C’mon, you have to admit that it’s funny,” he said nervously. Maki just scoffed and turned to Shuichi.

“So, I noticed you and Rantaro were holding hands when you came in the room,” she said bluntly. Shuichi’s face flushed red.

“Um… yeah, so?” he replied shakily.

“Wait, what?” Kaede butted into the conversation, “does that mean you two are…?” she couldn’t even finish the question.

“Are you guys dating or something?” Kaito blurted loudly, loud enough for the whole room to hear. It became dead silent in the room and Shuichi felt like slinking into his chair as eyes fell between him and Rantaro. Shuichi made eye contact with the boy from across the room who shrugged and smiled back at him.

“Kaito!” Maki smacked him on the head for drawing attention to the two of them like that. Surprisingly, the class didn’t make a huge deal about it. Not even Kokichi who was usually the first to stir the pot. Although Keebo seemed to have a tight grip on him after his initial outburst today.

“Yes, we are,” Shuichi answered in a hushed voice so only his friends could hear.

“Aw… I mean, I’m happy for you but,” Kaede said, looking glum, “I was going to ask you to the dance in a couple of weeks. Now I don’t know who to go with,”

“Dance?” Shuichi questioned.

“Yeah, they’re trying to do something to boost morale. Apparently a lot of western schools have dances and our student council wants to host one at the end of the summer,” Maki explained. Shuichi groaned.

“I don’t want to go to anything like that anyway,” he claimed, “sorry Kaede.”

“It’s fine,” she sighed, “But how long have you and Rantaro been dating? He’s been gone from the school for two weeks and all of a sudden you two are a thing? I didn’t even know you were friends.”

“Yeah, I didn’t know you were gay Shuichi,” Kaito added inappropriately, earning another lighter smack from Maki.

“Do you have any manners?” she scolded.

“Guys, it’s fine. We started dating last week so not for very long. But Rantaro makes me happy,” he answered.

“Well, I’m happy for you. We’ll have to get to know him better later,” Kaede said smiling.

“Yeah, I’m sure he’d like to get to know you guys too,” Shuichi said. After that, their teacher walked in and the class began. They started with a long lecture class, which was always hard in the morning. Shuichi watched the board but occasionally his eyes drifted to Rantaro who looked like he was trying hard to pay attention. He knew that the school was going to be hard on him from now on, so he was trying his best.

Occasionally he would roll his head back and catch Shuichi gazing at him and give him a soft smile before turning back forward. It was nice having Rantaro back at school but he was already such a distraction from the young detective. He would have to try harder not to stare at him through classes. He couldn’t even recall what todays lecture was on.

The end of class bell rang loudly, alerting everyone that it was time for lunch. The class was quick to pack up and head out but before he was able to make his way out of the room, their last teacher before lunch time called for Rantaro to speak with him after the room cleared. Shuichi walked by him and asked if he was okay, but Rantaro already knew what this was about. He insisted that Shuichi went with his friends to find a table and he would join them later.

Shuichi did just that and left Rantaro to have this conversation. He went with Kaito, Maki, and Kaede to the cafeteria and grabbed their usual table and took out their lunches. It didn’t take long for Rantaro to be finished and find them. Shuichi saved a spot next to him for his boyfriend to sit and as soon as he did, the questions started flying.

“So, you guys are dating huh?” Kaito started. Stating the obvious.

“You already knew that,” Maki scolded, “sorry about him. But we are happy to have you join us. Shuichi has told us a bit about you already.”

“Nothing bad I hope,” Rantaro joked, “but it’s nice to get to know Shuichi’s friends.”

“We’re happy to have you join us,” Kaede said cheerfully. She kept giving the two of them bright eyed looks, it was kind of weird but he assumed she was just really happy.

They continued to make small talk and Rantaro’s charming self really won them over. Shuichi was happy to see him getting along with his friends, not that he had any doubts. Of course, while they were there the topic of this school dance came back up.

“So, are you two going to go to this dance together?” Kaede asked. She knew Shuichi didn’t want to go already, but Rantaro might actually like the idea.

“What dance?” Rantaro wondered, “I didn’t know there were dances here.”

“It’s a new thing, it may be fun,” Kaede explained.

“Well, even if I wanted to go they probably wouldn’t let me,” he tried to laugh it off.

“Why not?” Kaito asked curiously.

“The school isn’t too fond of me right now,” he laughed half-heartedly.

“Why not?”

“Long story, I just had a rebellious streak,” Rantaro said.

“I get that,” Maki sympathized.

They had a nice lunch, talking and getting to know Rantaro a little better. It was clear to his friends by the end of lunch that Shuichi was smitten by Rantaro. His eyes barely strayed from the other boy as they talked.

The school day ended quickly, much to both of their relief. Rantaro’s first day went by pretty smoothly and now that it was over, he shouldn’t have the problem of people gawking at him anymore. In the car on the way home, they reflected on how they day went and how Shuichi’s friends seemed to really enjoy him. Rantaro seemed much more at ease and happy in the car than he was this morning, which brought a smile to Shuichi’s face.

“By the way, what did our teacher ask you before lunch?” Shuichi wondered. He didn’t want to put him on the spot in front of everyone.

“He was really shocked about the amount of homework I’m supposed to have. He just wanted to voice his concern. But I told him what I knew about that situation and I think he’s actually on my side. As long as we can dig up some dirt on my dad, maybe this whole thing will go away,” Rantaro said hopefully.

“That sounds promising. And tomorrow, if your parents are gone, we can snoop around a bit and see if they have anything we can use,” Shuichi suggested.

“I’m not sure if we’ll find anything but it’s worth a shot. Thank you Shuichi,” Rantaro shot him a quick smile.

Rantaro pulled up to Shuichi’s house and put the car in park. He reached his hands out to hold Shuichi’s head as he kissed him passionately. Shuichi felt like he could melt into a puddle as he eagerly kissed Rantaro back. He wrapped his arms around his shoulders before they broke their kiss to hold him close.

When they finally broke away, Rantaro was grinning at him. Shuichi beamed as he saw his boyfriend looking so happy.

“I’ll see you tomorrow love,” Rantaro said. Shuichi nodded.

“I can’t wait.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know its been a while, but I'm committed to finishing this fic. Hope you all enjoy.


	10. Chapter 10

The school day couldn’t go by fast enough as Shuichi anticipated this boat ride Rantaro promised him yesterday. He had never been on one before, but also he was looking forward to another day at Rantaro’s house alone with him.

After classes, Rantaro and Shuichi fast walked to his truck and took off toward Rantaro’s house.

“I’m so happy we get to do this,” Shuichi said excitedly, “And I remembered to bring my own swimsuit this time.”

“Good, I was going to buy a new one that was less… revealing, but then I decided not to,” Rantaro said coyly. Shuichi bit his lip, grinning at the thought of Rantaro’s ass in those tight shorts.

They pulled into Rantaro’s gates and he drove up the long driveway into the garage. With the door shut, they both got out and walked inside. Shuichi was still a bit shaken to see the huge house, but he was getting used to it.

“Hey, before we go out. You wanna look through my dad’s office?” Rantaro asked. Pointing upstairs. Shuichi nearly forgot that they planned to snoop but he really owed it to Rantaro to help him make his case to the school. Especially after seeing that complaint against Rantaro in the teacher’s office.

“Yeah, I almost forgot. Let’s go,” Shuichi followed Rantaro up the stairs and down a different hallway where he walked to a locked door.

“Wait here, the key is in my parent’s room,” Rantaro instructed and he walked farther down the hall. He was gone for a few minutes, but came back with the office door key.

“Does he know you know where his key is?” Shuichi wondered.

“Probably not or he would have moved it I’m sure,” Rantaro said as he opened the door. Inside was a typical office with lots of filing cabinets. His computer was perched on a large corner desk, which Rantaro headed for.

“I’m gonna look around on here, you see if you can find any files that look suspicious,” he said. Shuichi sighed, this would probably take a while. 

He went to work going through the files. Most of them were for trading and stocks with other companies across the world. Pretty boring stuff, but eventually Shuichi stumbled upon a file with a tab titled “Police reports” so he dug into that one.

“Rantaro, come here,” he turned to the other boy who didn’t look like he was having much luck in the computer. He quickly got up to see what Shuichi had found. 

Shuichi had opened up a report with the last name Amami written on the side. Inside the file was a photo of a young girl.

“That’s… Yukiko, one of my sisters,” Rantaro said, looking at the file over Shuichi’s shoulder, “What does it say?”

Shuichi skimmed down the info until he got to the details. Clearing his throat first, he began to read.

Yukiko Amami was reported missing on June 7th during the Amami family trip to the Florida everglades. The American police interviewed the family and were told that the young girl ran away from their hotel in a panic to locate her older brother Rantaro Amami. The father claims she went to search for him but others staying nearby said they heard yelling from the Amami’s hotel room. None of the witnesses heard the details of the arguing other than it sounded like a man yelling at a young girl. Rantaro Amami returned from deep in the swamps that night by himself. He told police that he never found his sister. The case remains unsolved. Rantaro Amami helped the search for three days before the family had to return to Japan. There has been no update since.

Shuichi could hardly believe what he saw, but this report could help clear Rantaro from fault.

“I can’t believe this,” Rantaro said after Shuichi finished reading the report, “That bastard scared her off. She went to find me and never came back.”

“Did you father fight with all of your sisters?” Shuichi wondered.

“It was one of the main reasons I started adventuring. It was to get away from the fighting,” he explained.

“We should take these, all of them. I’m sure if we show them to the school they’ll have to reconsider your dad’s complaint,” Shuichi said. Rantaro shot him a smile.

“You’re the best Shuichi, why don’t you put those in my car so we don’t forget them,” he said, handing Shuichi the keys, “I’ve gotta make sure he can’t tell I was messing with his computer.”

“Okay, and then we can take that boat ride?” Shuichi asked hopefully. Rantaro smiled and pulled Shuichi in for a soft kiss.

“Of course.”

Shuichi went down the stairs and to the garage entrance where he got back to Rantaro’s truck. He put the stack of files on the floor on the passenger side. Putting them as much out of view as he could just in case. He locked the car back up and met up with Rantaro at the deck leading outside. He didn’t even go to the bathroom to strip down to his swim shorts that he had been in all day under his uniform. Rantaro apparently had the same idea. When he got down the stairs, he tugged his shirt off and threw it to the ground. He had to stop to slip out of his pants but he was wearing that tight suit Shuichi liked so much.

“Ready?” Rantaro asked with a coy smirk. Shuichi nodded as his eyes traveled Rantaro’s mostly naked body. The taller boy took Shuichi by the hand and led him outside. He snatched the boat keys from his parent’s room already and they made their way to the dock.

This would be Shuichi’s first time out on the water, which made him nervous but he knew that he could trust Rantaro out there to keep him safe. Rantaro leapt into the boat and offered his hand to the dark haired boy to give him leverage to get inside. Rantaro unlocked the cabin to get the boat running.

“Shuichi!” he called from inside, “do me a favor and untie us.” Shuichi agreed and walked to the edge of the boat where the rope tying them to the dock was. He unwrapped it and tossed the rope back onto the dock.

“Ready when you are!” he called. Rantaro gave him an affirmative signal from the cockpit and started the boat engine. It wasn’t long before they were starting to drive away from the docks. Shuichi was feeling nervous about falling off so he quickly found a seat on one of the benches on the side. Rantaro really picked up the speed to get far enough away from the shore. Shuichi outside was trying not to get drenched as he held on. When they were far enough away, Rantaro set it to cruise and the engine slowed to a decent speed for them to walk around out front.

Being out on the ocean again made Rantaro feel more at home. He came out of the cabin to join Shuichi and check on him.

“So, how do you like it?” he asked, seeing Shuichi still holding to the bench.

“It’s nice out here,” Shuichi said. Rantaro sat down next to him and placed a hand on his thigh.

“I used to come out here all the time to be alone, but I like having the company too,” he chided. Shuichi felt his cheeks turn pink as Rantaro leaned in close to him, giving him a soft kiss on his neck. Shuichi bit his lip trying to hold back his soft chuckles as Rantaro’s soft lips pressed against his skin. Rantaro kissed him a few times but pulled away, bringing his lips close to Shuichi’s ear.

“Out here, you can be as loud as you like,” he whispered in a low voice. Shuichi felt his chest tingle as Rantaro’s warm breath on his ear. The taller boy went back to Shuichi’s neck, peppering him with gentle kisses. Shuichi stopped holding back his sounds as he quietly moaned at Rantaro’s touch.

The light-brown haired boy’s hands started to feel around Shuichi’s body, tracing winding lines down Shuichi’s chest from his shoulders with his finger. The dark haired boy’s breathing staggered and his body shivered as the other boy touched him. He opened his eyes and peered over at the boy hunched over him. He gazed at his long, slender body. Beads of water sat atop his skin from the splashing ocean beneath them. His eyes followed the slope of his back and down to his plump backside. Shuichi had a thought, and since they were out here alone he decided to ask.

“Hey Rantaro?” Shuichi asked, sounding a bit nervous.

“Yes?” the other replied smoothly.

“Can I… um…” Shuichi struggled, his cheeks becoming even redder, “can I touch your butt?”

Rantaro giggled, “Babe, you don’t have to ask,” he reached out to take Shuichi’s wrist in his grasp, pulling his arm toward him until Shuichi’s hand was slapped against his barely clothed ass. Shuichi nearly yelped but he completely lost himself as he groped his boyfriend’s plush backside. Rantaro hummed happily as Shuichi squeezed him.

Shuichi enjoyed the feeling of Rantaro’s ass against his palms. So much that he was feeling his body react.

“Oh shit,” he muttered as he realized what was happening. He pulled his hand back quickly, looking embarrassed.

“What?” Rantaro stopped and looked at Shuichi wondering what was wrong. But as his eyes scanned him, he realized what he was referring to, “oh, that… would you like to go back to shore and take care of that?” he asked.

“I… uh…” Shuichi felt so embarrassed he didn’t know what to say.

“I mean, I’ll help you if you want,” Rantaro said, biting his lip. Shuichi felt his eyes widen as they met the hazel ones of his lover. He nodded, incapable of words in the moment. Rantaro stepped away from him slowly and went back to the wheel to turn the boat around. They hadn’t strayed too far from the shore to begin with, but maybe they could come back out on the water afterwards. At least, Shuichi was hoping so.

But first, he couldn’t pass up this opportunity.

Rantaro took the boat back in the direction of the dock which they were approaching pretty quickly. But Shuichi’s mind was focused on something else instead of the ride. Rantaro pulled the boat back to the dock and locked everything up.

“Help me tie the boat down and we can go back inside,” the tall boy added with a wink. Shuichi got up and quickly climbed out and took the rope from the dock. He handed it to Rantaro who was waiting to wrap it around the hooks and after it was secure, he followed him out.

Rantaro took Shuichi by the hand and started to run toward the house. He looked so happy with a huge smile across his face, laughing as they got closer to the back door. Shuichi always felt so warm and happy seeing his smiling face. Rantaro grasped the door handle to slide the door open, but as he caught a glimpse of what was inside, he nearly yelped.

He felt like his heart had stopped as he locked eyes with the all too familiar face of his disapproving father standing in the middle of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was gonna be just one chapter but I didn't want it to be too long, so I'm splitting them. So this one is a bit short. But the next is gonna be a real doozey.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to put a small trigger warning here for verbal abuse/a little bit of physical abuse.

Rantaro’s father stood facing the door, arms crossed across his chest. There was something in his hand that Rantaro couldn’t really see.

“I can’t believe this,” his deep voice cracked like a whip in the silence, “Get inside!” he shouted. Shuichi heard his voice command Rantaro from inside and now he knew what had him frozen in fear. He watched as Rantaro struggled to lift his foot to walk inside, now very self-conscious about being barely clothed. He put his arms across his torso trying to hide behind them as he fully stepped inside. Shuichi would have followed him, but he didn’t know whether that would make this better or worse.

As he entered farther into the house, his father made am exacerbated sigh as he threw Rantaro’s clothes back at him. He looked away from him with a disgusted look on his face.

“Put your damn clothes back on,” he grumbled. Rantaro’s dad wouldn’t even look at him until he was dressed again.

“And tell that kid behind you to get inside too,” he ordered coldly. Rantaro looked back at Shuichi and he quietly instructed him to come in and get dressed. Shuichi walked inside trying to avoid making direct eye contact with Rantaro’s father. He was a large man with a crew cut. Like most in the business world, he wore a fancy suit and most likely some very expensive shoes. He turned his head to glare at Shuichi which made him feel threatened as he quickened his pace to his clothes.

Rantaro was dressed again and his father just started shaking him head.

“What are you doing home?” Rantaro had to ask.

“We missed our flight, so we have to wait until tomorrow morning,” he explained, “but that doesn’t mean you get to fuck around with some… boy while were gone!” his voice increased in volume. Rantaro shied away.

“Does this mean you’re gay?” his father asked. Rantaro couldn’t make eye contact with him but he nodded in affirmation. Shuichi had gotten dressed now and hand his hands in his pockets, trying to stay out of this as much as he could.

“I don’t fucking believe this…” he flung his arms up, revealing what he was holding onto. It was a pair of binoculars, “my only son and now only kid and your so much of a fuck up that I don’t know what to do with you.”

“You were… spying on us?” Rantaro asked as he saw the binoculars in his hand.

“I needed to see who was stealing my boat, but what I saw,” he tensed up, “you’re disgusting. Do you always bring boys here to fuck in my boat?” he shouted.

“No!” Rantaro refuted but his father angrily threw the binoculars on the ground.

“Don’t fucking lie to me!” he called, “I’m so sick of you and your bullshit Rantaro! Why can’t you just be a normal kid? Instead you single handedly destroyed the future of this family. You are the biggest disappointment I’ve had the displeasure of raising.”

His words shot Rantaro through the heart.

He just stood there, his eyes wide in disbelief. Shuichi was just as surprised to hear the words come from his father’s mouth. He couldn’t imagine how Rantaro was feeling to hear this.

“The only thing I could have hoped from you is for a grandchild who was at least half as much of a fuck up as you to take over my business instead but you won’t even give me that. So why? Why are you doing this to me?” He asked angrily.

“I didn’t… choose to be this way,” Rantaro replied timidly.

“Fucking bullshit!” he slammed the counter causing both boys to jump, “and who the fuck are you? I don’t want you in my house anymore!” he directed his rage at Shuichi. This triggered Rantaro to finally snap back.

“Don’t yell at him! This was my idea, so you can be mad at me,” Rantaro barked.

“I can yell at him if I want and I don’t want him here,” he argued.

“Then we’ll both leave,” Rantaro said motioning for Shuichi to follow him.

“You aren’t going anywhere Rantaro.”

“Fuck off, you can’t stop me,” he said, snatching his car keys from the counter. He stormed off to the garage and he held the door for Shuichi to go first. His father was following him and grabbed Rantaro’s shoulder.

“Don’t fucking touch me!” Rantaro shouted as he struggled to get away from his dad’s grasp. They fought back and forth for a while but eventually his dad conceded and threw Rantaro back, finally letting go of him.

“Fine, leave like you always do. But I won’t forget about this,” he warned. Rantaro flipped him off and walked to his car where he quickly jumped in and started it. 

“Rantaro…” Shuichi tried to say something but Rantaro had opened the door and quickly pulled out of the garage and drove off down the hill. Once they were past the gate he drove off very quickly. Shuichi was nervous about how fast he was going but he didn’t want to say anything. Rantaro’s expression was so tense, he couldn’t be sure if he was furious or about to break down in tears.

Instead, Shuichi looked out the window as they drove. He recognized the scenery after a few minutes and suddenly knew exactly where Rantaro was going.

They came up to the clearing Rantaro brought him to the day they skipped class together. The winding road was pretty recognizable. Shuichi looked over at Rantaro again who hadn’t even made a sound since they got in the car. He was really worried about him, after all his father said to him. But right now his face was impossible to read.

They came to the clearing spot and Rantaro backed in so the bed of the truck was facing the edge. He stopped the car and let out a sigh. He fumbled with the keys and grabbed a particular one which he handed to Shuichi.

“Would you get the back set up for me? I’ll be out in a minute,” Rantaro said. Shuichi nodded and took the keys from him. Hesitantly he left Rantaro in the front and walked to the back where he climbed in. He saw Rantaro through the back window who just sat there unmoving. He didn’t know what to do, but Rantaro was clearly upset.

Shuichi opened the case and pulled out the big blanket he kept back there and tried to spread it out evenly across the back. When he laid it down, he grabbed the pillows and tried to fluff them up and set them aside. But he stopped when he saw Rantaro finally get out of the truck and slam the door shut. Shuichi tried not to stare at him as he climbed in the back, but Rantaro wasn’t even focused on him. Instead he went straight for his box and to his stash.

He should have expected that. Rantaro must be beyond stressed right now. The taller boy dug through the small pouch back there but it looked like something was wrong. Rantaro frantically looked in the bag but eventually threw it back into the case. His last resort to calm down after this ordeal was gone. He forgot that he smoked the rest of his stash the night he slept in his car and he forgot to replenish it.

“Damnit!” he fell back on his butt and brought his balled up hand to his mouth. His eyes looked away from where Shuichi was but there were clearly tears slowly pooling up. 

“Rantaro…” Shuichi crawled over to him to place his hand on his shoulder, and that touch seemed to be the thing that finally sent him over the edge. Shuichi watched as the tears in his eyes finally fell as Rantaro could no longer hold anything back.

“I’m sorry…” Rantaro choked out behind whimpers but Shuichi shook his head as he grasped his other shoulder.

“You have nothing to be sorry about,” he insisted. Seeing Rantaro like this was heartbreaking but he knew that he must’ve been holding all of this in for a long time. Shuichi drew the other boy close and held him tightly. Rantaro’s arms quickly found their way around him and he could hear him break down into sobs.

Shuichi had to hold back tears himself as he held Rantaro. He gently rubbed circles on his back as the light-brown haired boy cried in his arms, hoping that would bring him some sort of comfort.

“You’re not a fuck up Rantaro, don’t believe those things he said,” Shuichi softly spoke comforting words for him in an effort to ease the other boy’s pain. Rantaro’s breathing was uneven and he could hear his whimpering in his ear, but as they sat there longer he seemed like he was starting to calm down.

Rantaro was the one who pulled away, showing his face to the dark haired boy again. His eyes were red and puffy, still glistening in the early evening light. His tears still tracing reflective tracks down his flushed cheeks. Shuichi hated to see him like this but Rantaro surely needed to let go for a little while. The dark haired boy brushed his thumb against Rantaro’s cheek, wiping away his streaming tears.

“It’s kinda ironic, isn’t it,” Shuichi said, after he had Rantaro’s full attention, “last time we came here, I was the one who was crying.” Rantaro mustered a stifled laugh. His throat hurt from all the crying that he only could nod in agreement. He took his balled up hand to wipe his other cheek before he looked back at his companion.

“I thought I was the one helping you, but maybe I needed you more,” he admitted, his voice strained.

“You’ve done so much for me already,” Shuichi smiled, brushing away some of Rantaro’s hair from his face, “But you need somebody to be there for you too.”

“Thank you, Shuichi,” Rantaro’s tears started back up again and he threw his arms around Shuichi. The dark haired boy held him again, stroking the back of his head gently.

“Everything’s going to be okay,” Shuichi muttered close to the crying boy’s ear. Soon, Rantaro was able to sit back and regained part of his normally calm demeanor. His breathing had slowed as he settled himself. Shuichi had taken his hands, holding on to them tightly.

“Hey, I have something that might cheer you up,” Shuichi remembered. Rantaro’s glossy eyes looked at him curiously. The dark haired boy pulled out his phone and showed him an untitled voice memo recorded about an hour ago. Rantaro lifted his brow as he thought about what that could be.

“Does that… have my dad’s voice in it?” he asked.

Shuichi nodded, “Yeah, I thought to record what he said just in case it would help us clear your name. I’d play it back for you, but now isn’t a good time for that.”

“Oh Shuichi,” Rantaro smiled as he wiped the rest of his tears from his eyes, “between that and those police files, I think you’ve totally saved my ass.” Shuichi blushed.

“I’m just helping like you asked,” he said bashfully. Rantaro smiled at him. At the least, it was nice to see a happy look on his face again.

“Well, I guess there’s no way I’m going back home tonight,” Rantaro said, changing thoughts.

“I’m going to call my mom, there’s no way I’m letting you sleep in your car again,” Shuichi insisted. He unlocked his phone and called his mom. After explaining the situation he got the permission to have Rantaro stay with them for the night. Shuichi gave Rantaro a hopeful look as he ended the phone call.

“Thanks again,” the taller boy said.

“No need to thank me, I wouldn’t let you go back to that house after that,” he insisted.

“Do you want to get going then?” Rantaro asked.

“I mean, we can stay here for a little longer,” Shuichi shot him a soft smile. Rantaro wrapped his arm around Shuichi’s shoulders and pulled him close, planting a kiss on his temple as he did.

“You got it.”


	12. Chapter 12

Shuichi thought about waiting until the sun set to head back home, but after all that had happened that day he only waited a little bit before saying they should head to his house. Rantaro helped him pack up the box so they could leave. Rantaro and Shuichi hopped in the front seats and the taller boy started the engine. The roaring of the truck served as white noise as they drove. Even though he was doing better than earlier, Rantaro wasn’t in the mood to sing to the radio this time.

Shuichi held onto his boyfriend’s hand the entire drive, hoping to bring him at least a little comfort as they made their way to Shuichi’s house. The trip seemed to take longer than it should have, as they both were still trying to process everything.

The sun was setting by the time they got to Shuichi’s house. Rantaro pulled the large truck up to the curb as he did every morning and shifted the car into park. With a deep breath, he gave the young detective a signal to let go of his hand so they could get out. With his backpack and the police files in hand, Shuichi lead Rantaro to the front door and fumbled for his keys in his pocket.

The two were met by the worried face of Shuichi’s mom as they got the door open. She immediately threw her arms around both of them as they stepped inside.

“Oh I’m so glad your both okay!” she yelped, squeezing her arms tight around the two boys. Rantaro had to stop himself from tearing up again. The welcoming embrace of Shuichi’s mom, a woman who barely knew him was surprising, but helped him feel more at ease about the situation.

“Yeah, I was a bit scared to be honest,” Shuichi admitted. His mom let them go, but only to grab Rantaro by both arms, holding them close to his sides. She was so much shorter than him, but the look in her eyes as she stared up at him was seemed protective.

“If you ever need a safe place to stay Rantaro, our door is always open,” she said. Rantaro gulped. His eyes welled up again, but this time the tears didn’t fall. Instead he felt his heart swelling with gratitude.

“Thank you Mrs. Saihara,” Rantaro chocked. Shuichi’s mom too seemed to be on the verge of crying but they both held back. She managed to give him a warm smile in return and embraced him tightly. He felt like he should hold her too. A few moments passed and neither of them budged. Shuichi thought it was nice to see Rantaro and his mom having this moment.

“Mom…” he eventually stepped in though, clearing his throat as a sign for them to move on. His mom let go of Rantaro and shook her head.

“I just… can’t fathom how any parent could be cruel to their children,” she said.

“I know mom, I can’t wrap my head around it either. But we’re both really tired, so we’re going to go to bed,” he stated. His mom nodded and let them off with a warm good night, promising them breakfast in the morning. Rantaro thanked her again before following Shuichi to his room.

“Sorry, she can be a bit clingy,” Shuichi apologized. Rantaro just smiled.

“You know, I think I needed that,” he claimed. Shuichi smiled back at him, holding his gaze for a few seconds before he walked to his desk to drop off the files and his bag.

“Oh, you brought those in?” Rantaro noted. He didn’t even notice that Shuichi had them until now.

“Yeah, I thought about reading them tonight. If that’s okay with you that is?” Shuichi blushed, realizing that he didn’t even ask permission to read his personal police files.

“Yeah, of course you can,” Rantaro chuckled at Shuichi’s reaction, “but first, can you hang out with me for a bit?”

“Of course,” Shuichi smiled. He took off his uniform jacket so he was just in the button up underneath. He laid it over the back of his desk chair for tomorrow, but then realized that Rantaro probably didn’t want to sleep in his school clothes. Shuichi went to one of his drawers and dug around until he found at least a shirt that was too big for him. 

“Here, you can wear this to bed tonight. I don’t think I have any bottoms that’ll fit you though,” he offered. Rantaro thanked him and took the baggy T-shirt and quickly pulled off his own shirt to change into it. Shuichi watched, admiring Rantaro’s body again. He though back to earlier, before Rantaro’s dad showed up. He wondered what Rantaro would have done if that hadn’t happened. Rantaro caught the boy staring, and with a chuckle he tossed his shirt at Shuichi jokingly.

“Perv,” he joked. Shuichi pulled the shirt off his face and glared at Rantaro, playing along.

“Not as much as you are!” he laughed.

“I really wanted to do things with you today,” Rantaro admitted. Shuichi felt his cheeks grow hot as the tall boy’s hazel eyes caught him own.

“I… I did too,” Shuichi replied, his voice sounding flustered.

“That’s okay though, I’m sure we’ll get another chance,” the light brown-haired boy was grinning as he pulled the borrowed shirt over his head. It was a bit short on him, but that hardly mattered. He then pulled his pants off, despite not having any to change into.

“Do you mind if I just sleep like this?” Rantaro asked as he took a seat on the bed. Shuichi shook his head.

“Not at all,” he said, “just be careful my mom doesn’t see you like that.”

Shuichi finished getting himself ready and in his pajama’s. He promised Rantaro that he would stay with him until he fell asleep before going to read the police files. Even though it was still early, Rantaro and Shuichi squeezed into his bed and laid back against the single pillow they had to share. Shuichi had his phone on him which he brought up a move for them to watch as they laid back, huddled together in Shuichi’s tiny bed. The dark haired boy gave Rantaro a kiss goodnight before hitting play and letting the exhaustion take its toll on the other boy.

Within an hour, Shuichi could hear the soft and slowed breathing of his partner fast asleep next to him. Shuichi admired the boy’s soft face in the lowered light of his bedroom. With his forefinger, Shuichi brushed his cheek carefully so not to wake him.

“Goodnight Rantaro,” The young detective whispered before he very carefully got out of his bed, trying not to disturb the other boy awake. He snuck over to his desk where he had a low hanging lamp and all the police files he took from Rantaro’s house. Even though the details of all the cases didn’t matter, he wanted to know what happened. Especially if he was going to help Rantaro find his siblings in the future. He made a promise after all. 

~

In the morning, Shuichi woke up with Rantaro’s arms wrapped around him. The taller boy was using him like a stuffed toy that a child would sleep with. He really didn’t want to disturb him, but they both needed to get up to get ready for school. Shuichi wiggled around as best he could, trying to gently nudge Rantaro awake. But he was a pretty hard sleeper.

“Rantaro,” Shuichi poked his cheek, “wake up.”

The other boy’s face twitched slightly as Shuichi’s pushed on him. His eyes slowly parted, the light from morning burning brightly into Shuichi’s room. He let a yawn escape as he tiredly rubbed his eyes.

“Good morning,” Rantaro realized how he was sleeping last night, nuzzled up into Shuichi. His cheeks blushed slightly as he made eye contact with his sweet boyfriend, “Sorry, I hope I didn’t keep you up at all.”

“No, I liked having you hold me all night,” Shuichi smiled. Rantaro smiled back as he leaned in to give him a quick kiss.

“Are you ready to talk to the principal today and clear your record?” Shuichi asked as their lips drew apart.

“Not gonna lie, I’m pretty nervous. But you’ll be there with me right?” Rantaro asked, looking quite bashful.

“Of course I will,” Shuichi assured, stroking his hair in an attempt to comfort the gorgeous boy next to him.

“Then I’ll be fine,” get gave him a wide smile. One that was the most sincere he’d seen from the tall boy.

They finally managed to pull themselves out of bed and after getting dressed, they joined Shuichi’s mom for breakfast. It was a lovely morning with the sunlight peeking through the window drapes. With a goodbye to Shuichi’s mom, the two of them got going. The dark clad boy made sure to put the police files into his bag as well as having the recording on his phone easily accessible or when they talk to the principal. It was much earlier than they would usually leave, but they wanted to get there early to get this over with.

The drive to school felt unusually long as the anxiety of the upcoming conversation hit Rantaro. He wished he could believe that this would undoubtedly clear his name, but he couldn’t be entirely sure. Not to mention, the school already has it out for him so there’s a chance they’ll think this is fabricated. But he tried to clear his mind. Seeing the positive look on Shuichi’s face put his mind at ease if only just a little.

Pulling into the school’s parking lot, Rantaro took a deep breath before removing the keys from the ignition. He glanced at the dark haired boy and grinned.

“You ready?” he asked, trying to hide his nerves. But Shuichi could tell he was on edge.

“It’s going to work, I know it will,” the detective assured. Hearing him say it made him want to believe him even more, but for now all they could do is try.

They left the car and walked hand in hand to the front doors of the school, close to where the principal’s office is, and made their way to it. With an unstable hand, Rantaro knocked against the wooden door and waited for a response. It took a few minutes but eventually, the Hope’s Peak Principal stood before them with a questioning look in his eyes.

“Saihara? Amami? What are you two doing here?” he asked, very bluntly. Rantaro gulped.

“Sir, there’s something I need to show you. It’s about my punishment and the claim my father made to the school,” he explained. The principal gave him a skeptical look. Shuichi could see the distrust in his eyes.

“We have evidence to prove Rantaro’s father fabricated that complaint against Rantaro, if you’ll allow us to present it,” Shuichi said, sounding more confident than usual.

“Are you positive about this?” he asked in a gruff tone, “because if you’re lying about this I don’t know what else to do with you Amami.”

Rantaro could feel his heart beating in his throat. He didn’t want to risk potential expulsion or anything more severe than he already had to deal with, but he trusted Shuichi, “Yes sir, I wouldn’t be here otherwise.”

The principal continued to look down at them, but offered to hear them out and the two of them followed him into his office. The two of them took seats on the other side of the principal’s desk and Shuichi dig through his backpack for the police files.

“So, this is about your father’s claim that you got your sister’s lost. Now your father insisted that you did this on purpose and the files he gave us support his story,” the principal began.

“Then those reports must be incorrect. Because we found these at Rantaro’s house,” Shuichi plopped the files in the desk for the principal to read what they contained, “In these reports, the officers wrote that nearby witnesses heard yelling and fighting long after Rantaro had left on his own coming from the room the rest of the family was staying in. They all claim to hear a loud male voice. Clearly that has to be Rantaro’s father,” Shuichi argued.

“These… wait… the ones I received were very similar. Hold on,” he got up and went to one of his many file cabinets. He dig through one until he pulled out a number of files and brought them to his desk. They were dated for the same dates as the ones Shuichi had found, but they had clear differences.

Rantaro looked at the ones the principal had skeptically.

“May I see those?” he asked. The principal handed one of the files to Rantaro who immediately grabbed the matching one from the pile Shuichi had. Everything was identical except for the large amounts of missing information from the one the principal had.

“The seal, it’s… wrong,” the principal noted as he too compared the documents.

“He… faked the police reports for this complaint?” Rantaro said aloud, disbelievingly. 

“This is…” the principal was clearly shaken by this new development and struggled to find words. Rantaro and Shuichi were silent as they waited for their principal to process this information. When he finally spoke, they were perched at the edge of their seats.

“Amami, I… must apologize. If I had known, I never would have had you punished so severely. I want to make this up to you, but at the same time I can’t let all of your other offenses slide. The drug and alcohol use, vandalism and frequent skipping are on you, not him. But at the very least, let me take you off of the rigorous program we switched you to. You can go back to being held to the same standards as your peers. And I do hope you can forgive us for this misunderstanding.”

Rantaro’s eyes were wide as he listened to their principals words. Shuichi tried to hide his smile, but Rantaro seemed like he didn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Sir, I…” he could barely speak, “thank you, for listening to us.”

“Don’t thank me yet. I can only set you back to the normal curriculum, but I still have to arrange a different punishment for all the other offenses. You can go back to tutoring after school, but right now, we don’t have any students that require the extra help. So I’ll have to find something else,” he explained.

“I understand, and I’ll do whatever I need to.” Rantaro looked like he was about to get emotional again. But he held it in and thanked him properly.

The principal agreed to reconvene with Rantaro when he came up with a new punishment for his other offenses, but for now Rantaro was free of his insane workload and his dad was exposed for wrongdoing. They got what they wanted and it was such a relief.

When they were outside of the office, Rantaro nearly broke down in happiness. Shuichi held his tightly as they both started laughing.

“I can’t believe that worked,” Rantaro said in relief.

“I told you it would, and we didn’t even need to show the recording. I’m so happy for you!” Shuichi beamed. Rantaro with a big smile creasing his lips stroked Shuichi’s soft hair.

“Thank you Shuichi,” he said, “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“I didn’t do much, but I’m happy to help,” Shuichi claimed, “but for now, we should head to class.”

Rantaro nodded in agreement and they two of them made their way to their homeroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, sorry for the long wait again. I've been working on a lot of different things all at once so it doesn't leave much time to write. But I am getting close to where I'd like to end this story and I do plan on finishing it. Thank you to the few of o=you that keep coming back, I love reading your comments and I'm happy that you're enjoying this fic :)


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